Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| siéntese, por favor | formal, singular | |
| siéntense, por favor | formal, plural | |
| siéntate, por favor | /ˈsjentate poɾ faˈboɾ/ (word by word) | singular |
| sentaos, por favor | plural |
In more formal settings, you may also use the phrase tome asiento, which translates to 'take a seat'.
Which one should you use?
Use siéntate, por favor when speaking to a friend, child or someone you know well. Use siéntese, por favor instead to show respect to one person. If you are addressing a group of people formally, use siéntense, por favor.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The phrase has both formal and informal options. For a single person, siéntese, por favor is the formal singular command, while siéntate, por favor is the informal version. When addressing a group, siéntense, por favor is formal. You can also use the formal Por favor, siéntese or Por favor, tome asiento, as well as the informal Por favor, siéntate or Por favor, toma asiento.
How does it change in a sentence?
When addressing a group of people formally, you should use the plural form siéntense, por favor.
Did you know?
- In Spain, the command sentaos is used for an informal group, but this form is almost never used in Latin America, where siéntense is used for both formal and informal groups.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, instead of saying 'please sit down', people might simply gesture towards a chair with an open palm to show politeness.
- The word asiento in the phrase tome asiento can also refer to a 'seat' in a legal or financial sense, such as a formal record or a registered entry in an account book.
Examples in context
- Siéntese, por favor.Please sit down.This sentence is useful for practicing the singular formal command siéntese, por favor.Tatoeba #454135 by mamat, translation #415594 by CM
- Por favor, siéntese. La reunión está a punto de comenzar.Please sit down. The meeting is about to start.
- Por favor, tome asiento en la sala de espera. El médico estará con usted en un momento.Please take a seat in the waiting room. The doctor will be with you shortly.
- Por favor, siéntate y únete a nuestra conversación.Please sit down and join our conversation.
- Por favor, toma asiento en el patio. La comida estará lista en unos minutos.Please take a seat in the patio. The food will be ready in a few minutes.
- Doctor, siéntese, por favor.Doctor, please sit down.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro welcomes Elena to his office.
- AlejandroHola, Elena. Pase a la oficina.Hello, Elena. Come into the office.
- ElenaMuchas gracias, Alejandro.Thank you very much, Alejandro.
- AlejandroSiéntese, por favor.Please sit down.
- ElenaGracias.Thank you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “please sit down” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (siéntate, por, favor) and can differ in connected speech.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
