🙅‍♂️🪑👉

How to Say ‘No, go ahead and sit.’ in Simplified Chinese

没有，坐吧。

méi yǒu zuò ba

[méiyǒu dzwo bah]

💬 Usage Tip: 没有 (méi yǒu) here answers "Is anyone sitting here?" with "no, there isn't", the natural reply when someone asks whether a seat is taken.

🇨🇳 In China: Offering the seat straight away is an easy, low-pressure opening at a busy bar. It invites the person to stay without making a big deal of it.

Phrase Breakdown

没有，

méi yǒu

No / there isn't

méiyǒu: a common way to say 'no' or 'there isn't'. Say 'méi' with a rising tone, then a dipping 'yǒu'.

Example

没有人。

There's nobody.

Words in this phrase

没有

méi yǒu

[méiyǒu]

no; not

Used as a short answer meaning 'no' or 'there isn't'.

Example

这里有人吗？没有。

Is anyone sitting here? No.

坐吧。

zuò ba

Sit down

zuò ba: 坐 (sit) plus 吧, a soft particle that makes it a friendly invitation. 吧 is light and toneless.

Example

请坐吧。

Please have a seat.

Words in this phrase

坐

zuò

[dzwo]

to sit

坐 means to sit, and in restaurant context it often refers to where you want to be seated.

Example

我想坐靠窗的位置。

I want to sit in a window-side seat.

吧

[bah]

okay; let’s; softening particle

A sentence-ending particle that makes a suggestion or request sound softer.

Example

先订一桌吧。

Let's reserve a table first.

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