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N5Lesson notes · Oct 9, 2026

How do you say "stand" and "sit" in Japanese? 立たつ and 座すわる

"Stand" in Japanese is 立たつ (tatsu) and "sit" is 座すわる (suwaru) — and the trick that trips almost everyone is that 立たっている and 座すわっている describe the position someone is *in*, not the motion of getting there.

If you searched "stand in japanese" you probably want the word, the kanji, and a sentence you can say out loud. You will get all three below. But these two verbs are also a good window into how Japanese thinks about actions versus states, and 立たつ hides a whole family of idioms (useful, noticeable, angry) that use the same character in surprising ways.

The basics

What are the words for "stand" and "sit"?

立たつ (たつ, tatsu) means "to stand" and 座すわる (すわる, suwaru) means "to sit." Both are ordinary verbs, so they conjugate like any other.

  • 立たつ — たつ — to stand, to stand up
  • 座すわる — すわる — to sit, to sit down

Written in hiragana, they are たつ and すわる. The kanji 立りつ is a simple picture of a person standing on a line of ground, which makes it easy to remember. The kanji 座ざ has a roof shape (广げん) with two people sitting under it on the ground (土つち), the old idea of "a place where people sit."

ここに立たってください。 — Please stand here. (polite request) ここに座すわってください。 — Please sit here. (polite request)

How do you ask someone to stand up or sit down?

Use the te-form plus ください: 立たってください (please stand) and 座すわってください (please sit). Notice that both verbs change in the te-form: 立たつ becomes 立たって, and 座すわる becomes 座すわって. If te-forms still feel shaky, they are the real thing to practise here.

立たってください。 — Please stand up. (polite, a teacher or event staff) 座すわってください。 — Please sit down. (polite, welcoming someone to a seat) どうぞ、座すわってください。 — Please, have a seat. (polite, host to guest)

If you want to ask permission for yourself instead, flip it: 座すわってもいいですか. That grammar has its own article, te mo ii desu ka.

Which particle goes with 座すわる?

The place you sit takes に: 椅子いすに座すわる, ソファに座すわる, 床ゆかに座すわる. The thing you sit on is the destination of your body, so に is the natural marker. If you want the place where the action happens in a general sense, で can appear (ここで座すわって待まつ, "sit and wait here"), but for "sit on X," think に.

椅子いすに座すわります。 — I sit on the chair. (polite) ソファに座すわってもいいですか。 — May I sit on the sofa? (polite)

立たつ works the same way when you name a place: ドアの前まえに立たつ, "stand in front of the door." For the word 椅子いす itself, there is a full explanation in chair in Japanese.

What is the difference between 立たつ and 立たっている?

立たつ is the moment of standing up; 立たっている is the state of being on your feet. This is the single most important idea on this page.

  • 立たつ — the action: you rise (or step into a standing position)
  • 立たっている — the result: you are now standing, and you remain that way

彼かれは立たちました。 — He stood up. (polite, the action just happened) 彼かれは立たっています。 — He is standing. (polite, the state continues) 彼女かのじょは窓まどのそばに座すわっています。 — She is sitting by the window. (polite, state)

The same pattern works with 座すわる. 座すわりました is "I sat down"; 座すわっています is "I am sitting," often said long after you sat. English "he is standing" and "he is standing up" are two different ideas; in Japanese, 立たっている covers the first one only.

Beyond the basics

Why does 座すわっています not mean "I am in the middle of sitting down"?

With verbs that change a position or condition, ている describes the state after the change. 座すわる, 立たつ, 着きる (wear), 住すむ (live), and 知しる (know) all behave this way. The change happened; now you are in the result.

If you want to say you are about to sit, use a different shape:

今いま、座すわるところです。 — I am just about to sit down. (polite, right before the action) 座すわろうとしています。 — I am trying to sit. (polite, the action is in progress or attempted)

This is a big part of why intransitive and transitive verbs matter. 立たつ and 座すわる are intransitive: the subject does it to itself, with no object.

Is there a "transitive" version, 立たてる?

Yes — 立たてる (たてる) is the transitive partner of 立たつ: it means to make something stand or to set something up. It shows up constantly in idioms.

傘かさを立たてる。 — To stand an umbrella upright. (plain, literal) 計画けいかくを立たてる。 — To make a plan. (plain, "set up" a plan) 音おとを立たてる。 — To make a noise. (plain, to "raise" a sound) フラグを立たてる。 — To plant a (story) flag. (plain, an anime and gaming idiom for setting up an outcome)

The pair 立たつ / 立たてる is a clean example of the intransitive/transitive split. 旗はたが立たつ is "a flag stands up" by itself; 旗はたを立たてる is "someone sets a flag up."

What are the common idioms with 立たつ?

立たつ gets used for far more than physical standing. Three to learn early are 役に立やくにたつ, 目立めだつ, and 腹はらが立たつ.

  • 役に立やくにたつ — to be useful. The full word-by-word breakdown is in useful in Japanese.
  • 目立めだつ — to stand out, to be noticeable (literally, "the eyes stand").
  • 腹はらが立たつ — to get angry (literally, "the belly stands"). For the whole anger vocabulary, see angry in Japanese.

この本ほんは勉強べんきょうに役に立やくにたちます。 — This book is useful for studying. (polite) あの赤あかい服ふくは目立めだつね。 — That red outfit really stands out. (casual, a friend's comment) ほんとに腹はらが立たつ! — That really makes me angry! (casual, spoken)

You can also hear 席せきを立たつ, "to leave your seat," which uses 立たつ for rising from a seat and leaving, a very natural phrase in offices and trains.

電車でんしゃで席せきを立たちました。 — I got up from my seat on the train. (polite, and often means giving the seat up or leaving)

How do you say "have a seat" politely?

座すわってください is fine, but the politer, more natural options are おかけください and お座すわりください. In hotels, offices, and clinics, staff almost always use these.

どうぞ、おかけください。 — Please have a seat. (very polite, service and business) こちらにお座すわりください。 — Please sit over here. (very polite) お座すわりください。 — Please be seated. (very polite, formal)

Be careful: お座すわり (without ください) is also what people say to a dog, as a command. That is the dog trick, not a polite invitation.

What about 正座せいざ, 立たて, and the commands you hear in anime?

Anime and school settings use short commands, not polite requests. The plain imperatives are 立たて (stand!) and 座すわれ (sit!).

立たて! — Stand! (rough, a command, common in drama and fights) 座すわれ。 — Sit. (rough, an order, often with a stern look) 起立きりつ!礼れい!着席ちゃくせき! — Stand! Bow! Be seated! (formal, the school class routine)

In a classroom, 起立きりつ (きりつ), 礼れい (れい), and 着席ちゃくせき (ちゃくせき) are the teacher's formal words for stand, bow, and sit. You will hear them in every school-day anime scene.

正座せいざ (せいざ) is the formal way of sitting on your knees with your legs folded under you. You use it on tatami floors, in tea ceremony, and at traditional events.

正座せいざしてください。 — Please sit in seiza. (polite) 足あしがしびれたので、正座せいざをやめた。 — My legs went numb, so I stopped sitting in seiza. (plain, a very familiar experience)

Why is スタンド in JoJo not just "stand"?

In the Japanese loanword スタンド, the English "stand" takes a completely different meaning. The word is written in katakana and is an ordinary borrowed word for things like a lamp stand (電気でんきスタンド), a vendor stall, or the stands in a stadium. In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, スタンド became the name for a character's fighting spirit, which is a good reminder: katakana words are borrowed sounds, and they develop their own meanings. The verb 立たつ is a separate word with no link to that meaning.

Common mistakes

  • Saying 椅子いすを座すわる. 座すわる takes に for the seat: 椅子いすに座すわる. The particle を marks something you act on, and a chair is where you land, not what you sit.
  • Mixing up 立たつ and 建たつ. 立たつ is for people, objects, and ideas that "stand." 建たつ is for buildings that get built: 家いえが建たつ, "a house is built." The transitive partner is 建たてる (to build): 家いえを建たてる. They sound the same (tatsu), so the kanji matters.
  • Reading 座すわっています as "I am sitting down right now." It means you are already seated. For the motion, use 座すわります or 座すわるところです.
  • Using 座すわれ with anyone but a close friend or in a drama. It is a rough command. Use 座すわってください or おかけください with people you do not know well.
  • Treating 立たてる as just a different spelling of 立たつ. They are different verbs: 立たつ (the thing stands) and 立たてる (someone makes it stand).

Quick comparison

Word Reading Meaning Example
立たつ たつ to stand up 立たってください
立たっている たっている to be standing 窓まどのそばに立たっている
立たてる たてる to set up, to make (a plan, a noise) 計画けいかくを立たてる
建たつ たつ to be built (buildings) 家いえが建たつ
座すわる すわる to sit down 椅子いすに座すわる
座すわっている すわっている to be sitting ソファに座すわっている
おかけください おかけください please have a seat (very polite) こちらにおかけください
正座せいざ せいざ formal kneeling sit 正座せいざしてください

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 3 and 4 are a pair — the same verb, one as an action and one as a state.

1. How do you politely ask someone to stand up?

Show answer

立たってください — the te-form of 立たつ plus ください.

2. Choose the correct particle: 椅子いす( )座すわります.

Show answer

に — 椅子いすに座すわります. The chair is where your body lands, so に marks the seat, not を.

3. Say "He stood up" in polite Japanese.

Show answer

彼かれは立たちました — the past tense of 立たつ describes the moment he rose.

4. Say "He is standing" in polite Japanese. The action already happened.

Show answer

彼かれは立たっています — ている describes the state that remains after the change. This is the pair to question 3.

5. A friend says 彼女かのじょは座すわっています. Is she in the middle of sitting down?

Show answer

No, she is already seated — 座すわっている is a result state. To say she is about to sit, use 座すわるところです.

6. Which is correct for "a house gets built": 家いえが立たつ or 家いえが建たつ?

Show answer

家いえが建たつ — buildings use the kanji 建けん. The transitive partner is 建たてる, so 家いえを建たてる means "to build a house."

7. How do you say "to make a plan" using 立たてる?

Show answer

計画けいかくを立たてる — 立たてる is the transitive "set up" verb, so the plan takes を.

8. What does 腹はらが立たつ mean?

Show answer

To get angry — literally "the belly stands." It is a spoken idiom, not a statement about the stomach.

9. A hotel worker wants to invite you to sit. Give a very polite phrase.

Show answer

おかけください (or お座すわりください) — the honorific style used by service staff, politer than 座すわってください.

10. In a drama, a character barks one word to make a person stand. Which form is it?

Show answer

立たて! — the plain imperative. It is rough and only fits commands, fights, and close friends.

FAQ

Is 立たつ the same word as 建たつ? They sound the same but are different verbs. 立たつ is for standing and many idioms, while 建たつ is for buildings that get built. Check the kanji.

What is the difference between 座すわる and 腰こしかける? 腰こしかける (こしかける) is "to sit down" in the sense of perching on a seat, a bench, or a ledge. It is slightly more formal and describes the action of lowering yourself onto something. 座すわる is the everyday default.

How do I say "stand up" as one verb? 立ち上たちあがる (たちあがる) means to rise to your feet, with more of a feeling of getting up from a lower position. 立たつ often works just as well in simple sentences.

Can I say 座すわってください to a customer? It is correct, but おかけください or お座すわりください sounds more polished in service. 座すわってください suits a teacher, a friend, or a casual host.

What does スタンド mean in Japanese? It is a loanword for a stand, a stall, a lamp, or the stands in a stadium. It has no verb form here, and 立たつ is the native Japanese verb for standing.

Is the dog command お座すわり the same as 座すわってください? No. お座すわり is a short command given to dogs. Do not use it with people.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab, and each line becomes one card.

立つ	たつ — to stand, to stand up
座る	すわる — to sit, to sit down
立てる	たてる — to set up, to make (a plan, a noise)
建つ	たつ — to be built (a building)
建てる	たてる — to build
役に立つ	やくにたつ — to be useful
目立つ	めだつ — to stand out
腹が立つ	はらがたつ — to get angry
席	せき — seat
おかけください	おかけください — please have a seat (very polite)
お座りください	おすわりください — please be seated (very polite)
正座	せいざ — formal kneeling sit
椅子	いす — chair
起立	きりつ — stand (class routine)
着席	ちゃくせき — be seated (class routine)
立ち上がる	たちあがる — to rise to one's feet
腰かける	こしかける — to sit down (on a seat or ledge)
スタンド	スタンド — stand (lamp, stall, stadium stands)

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including these two verbs, which come up in nearly every beginner's first few lessons. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

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