Sit down!

How do you say sit down in Italian?

Siediti!

Words you should know	Sedersi (to sit oneself)
When to use this	With 1 person you’re familiar with
When NOT to use this	With strangers (doh!) and groups

It is a one-element sentence because siediti comes from the reflexive verb sedersi, which means to sit down. Literally, it could be translated as “to sit oneself” and it’s meant as a movement, not as a state. To sit (on something) is translated as sedere.

Il bambino è seduto sulla sedia.
The kid is sitting on the chair.

Il bambino si siede sulla sedia.
The kid sits down on the chair.

For example, you can say…

Che gli ospiti si siedano dove preferiscono.
Let the guests sit wherever they like.

Sediamoci un po’ sulla panchina, ragazzi.
Let’s sit on the bench for a while, guys.

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Sedetevi!

When to use this	With a group of people
When NOT to use this	With strangers (doh!) and 1 person at a time

In Italian, unlike English, there are two kinds of “you”. There’s a singular “you” (tu) and then there’s a plural “you” (voi). If you are addressing a group, you must conjugate any verb or pronoun accordingly.

Sedetevi pure in sala d’attesa. Il dottore arriverà a breve.
Have a seat in the waiting room. The doctor will arrive shortly.

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Si sieda!

When to use this	With 1 person you’re NOT familiar with
When NOT to use this	With friends, family and groups

When speaking formally, Italians address each other with the subject “she”, lei. Use Lei in the written form if you want to be very polite.

You can also add pure, which is an untranslatable particle that softens any request or command in Italian. Since you use si sieda in formal situations, you don’t really want to sound rude!

Si sieda pure in salotto, signora Bianchi. Arriverò a momenti.
Please take a seat in the living room, Mrs. Bianchi. I’ll be there in a moment.

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