Meaning of 让座
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to give up one's seat for sb
How to use 让座
让座 is used for giving your seat to someone on a bus, subway, or in a waiting room, often to the elderly, pregnant women, or people with small children. The person you give the seat to is usually introduced with 给 (gěi). Example: 他给一位老奶奶让座。(Tā gěi yí wèi lǎo nǎinai ràngzuò.) He gave his seat to an old lady.
让 (ràng) means to yield or let someone have something, and 座 (zuò) is a seat, as in 座位 (zuòwèi). Put them together and you yield your seat to someone else.
Common mistake: Learners often say 让座给老人 by copying English word order, but the more natural pattern is 给老人让座 (gěi lǎorén ràngzuò). Also, 座 (zuò, seat) is easy to confuse with 坐 (zuò, to sit), since they sound the same, but 让座 always uses 座.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
让 ràng · to yield · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
座 zuò · seat · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Related words
Words that share a character with 让座.
| 座位 | zuòwèi | seat |
| 讲座 | jiǎngzuò | course of lectures; lecture series; chair (academic position) |
| 转让 | zhuǎnràng | to transfer (ownership, rights etc) |
| 座谈会 | zuòtánhuì | conference; symposium |
| 让步 | ràngbù | to concede; to give in |
| 星座 | xīngzuò | constellation; astrological sign |
| 座右铭 | zuòyòumíng | motto; maxim |
| 就座 | jiùzuò | to take a seat |
| 退让 | tuìràng | to move aside; to get out of the way |
| 座谈 | zuòtán | to have an informal discussion |
| 让开 | ràngkāi | to get out of the way; to step aside |
| 后座 | hòuzuò | empress's throne; (fig.) first place in a women's competition |
Questions about 让座
What does 让座 mean?
让座 (ràngzuò) means "to give up one's seat for sb".
How do you write 让座?
让座 is made of 2 characters: 让 (5 strokes), 座 (10 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 让座 an HSK word?
Yes. 让座 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 让座 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 让座 is written 讓座.
Can I split 让座 and put words in the middle?
Yes. 让座 works like a verb plus object, so you can say 让个座 (ràng ge zuò) or 让了座 (ràng le zuò). For example, 你能给我让个座吗? means Could you give me your seat?
How do I thank someone who gave me their seat, or politely decline?
To thank them, a simple 谢谢你给我让座 (xièxie nǐ gěi wǒ ràngzuò) works well. To decline, you can say 不用了，谢谢 (bú yòng le, xièxie), meaning No need, thanks.