What does 坐 mean in Chinese?

坐 (zuò) means "to sit" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 坐?

坐 is written with 7 strokes, starting from the 土 (earth) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 坐?

The radical of 坐 is 土 (earth, Kangxi radical #32). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 地, 场, 在, 城.

How many strokes does 坐 have?

The Chinese character 坐 has 7 strokes.

What HSK level is 坐?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 坐 is a character to recognise at HSK 1.

坐 (zuò): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

坐

zuò

to sit

HSK 1 character 7 strokes Radical: 土 (earth)

Quick Answer

坐 (zuò) means "to sit" with 7 strokes, radical 土 (earth), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 坐 →Animated stroke-order for 坐 →

Pronunciation

zuò

Meaning

Primary: to sit

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

The oracle-bone and bronze graphs show two people (人人) kneeling on the ground (土), depicting the ancient posture of sitting on the heels on a mat. The two human figures face each other across a central earth element, capturing the communal nature of formal sitting in Shang and Zhou ritual. This is a compound pictograph, not a phono-semantic construction.

Form evolution

Bronze forms vary, sometimes showing the two figures above a clear 土, sometimes flanking it. Seal script regularises this into the stacked 从 (two 人) over 土 that underlies the modern form. Clerical script flattens the 人人 element into the two stylised strokes visible today, and 楷书 gives the final 坐 with the two 人 clearly preserved atop 土.

How the meaning evolved

The original sense was the kneeling-on-heels posture used on mats before chairs became common in China around the Tang dynasty. As furniture changed, 坐 shifted to mean sitting on a chair or bench, the default modern reading. Extended senses include 'to travel by' (坐车, 坐飞机, literally 'sit a vehicle'), 'to be situated' (坐落), and in legal classical Chinese 'to be convicted of' (坐罪).

Cultural note

The idiom 坐井观天 ('sitting in a well watching the sky') from Han Yu captures a narrow worldview and is one of the most quoted sayings featuring this character. Learners should note the posture shift: pre-Tang 坐 depicted kneeling seiza-style, which is why Japanese 正座 still uses the same graph for that formal posture.