Many of our of students ask us why Chinese people say “to sit the elevator” instead of “to take” it 🛋️
Watch Mr. Li explain it in today’s video!
👉 The regular usage of 坐
The most common meaning of 坐 zuò is, of course, “to sit”. This is the first meaning you are taught when start learning Chinese.
For example:
▪️ 坐椅子
▪️ zuò yǐzi
▪️ to sit on a chair
👉 坐 + Means of transportation
When you say “坐 zuò + elevator”, you use the second meaning of 坐 zuò, “to take” (a certain means of transportation).
You can easily use it with buses, subways, planes, and.. elevators, of course!
For example:
▪️ 坐公交车上班
▪️ zuò gōngjiāochē shàngbān
▪️ to take a bus to work
👉 What is 乘坐 chéngzuò?
If you ever travel to China by plane, you must have heard this kind of announcements:
▪️ 欢迎乘坐。。。航班
▪️ Huānyíng chéngzuò … hángbān
▪️ Welcome on board of this flight…
💡 Actually, the verb 乘坐 chéngzuò is nothing more but a formal version of 坐 zuò. In spoken Chinese, we usually just say “坐 zuò”.
What other means of transportation can you 坐 zuò？
