How to Offer Your Seat in Korean: 여기 앉으세요

Quick answer: To offer someone your seat on a Korean bus or subway, stand up and say 여기 앉으세요 (yeogi anjeuseyo) — "please sit here." That one short sentence, said while you step aside, is the whole thing. If the person declines, they'll say 아니에요, 괜찮아요 ("no, it's fine"), and you just sit back down.

The idea worth taking away today: in Korean, offering a seat is mostly done with your body, and the sentence is deliberately short. Learners often try to build something long and respectful — "excuse me, would you perhaps like to sit down in this seat?" — and it lands strangely, like reading a form letter out loud. A Korean person stands, half-turns toward the seat, maybe tips their head a little, and says six syllables. That's the whole exchange, and it is perfectly polite.

The sentence itself

여기 앉으세요. Please sit here.

여기 is "here," 앉다 is "to sit," and -(으)세요 is the polite request form built on the honorific -(으)시-. That honorific is what makes this usable with an older stranger. The plain 해요체 version, 여기 앉아요, is grammatical but sounds like something you'd say to a friend, or worse, like a mild instruction. To an elderly woman with grocery bags, 앉아요 sounds brisk; 앉으세요 sounds kind. If the difference between 해요 and 하세요 is still fuzzy for you, the honorific -(으)시- explained here is the piece that makes all of this click.

You can add an address term in front, and Koreans often do:

할머니, 여기 앉으세요. Grandma, please sit here. (to an elderly woman — 할머니 is used for any elderly woman, not only your own grandmother)

어르신, 여기 앉으세요. Please sit here, sir/ma'am. (어르신 is a respectful word for an elderly person, slightly more formal)

Both are normal. If you're unsure, just drop the address term and say 여기 앉으세요 — nobody will find that cold.

When natives pick the softer version

Sometimes you're not sure the person wants your seat. Maybe they're a middle-aged man who is clearly fine standing, or someone holding a baby, or a person you suspect would feel awkward being singled out. Then the question form is kinder, because it leaves them a way out:

여기 앉으실래요? Would you like to sit here?

여기 앉으시겠어요? Would you care to sit here? (a little more formal, common from service staff)

The difference is real. 앉으세요 is a done deal — you've already stood up and the seat is theirs. 앉으실래요? hands them the choice. With an obviously tired elderly person, 앉으세요 is better: making them decide is its own small burden. With someone ambiguous, 앉으실래요? is better, because "no thanks" costs them nothing.

And if the empty seat is simply next to you — you're not giving up anything, you're pointing:

이쪽에 앉으세요. Please sit over here.

여기 자리 비었어요. This seat is free.

If someone offers you a seat

This happens more than visitors expect, especially if you're carrying something heavy or look unwell. Two replies cover almost everything.

To accept:

감사합니다. Thank you.

양보해 주셔서 감사합니다. Thank you for giving up your seat. (warmer, used when someone genuinely stood up for you)

양보하다 means "to yield / give way," and 자리 양보 is the standard noun for this whole custom. Notice the -아/어 주다 in 양보해 주셔서 — it marks the act as a favor done for you, which is exactly why the thank-you feels full. That pattern shows up everywhere in polite Korean; here's how -아/어 주다 works.

To decline:

아니에요, 괜찮아요. No, it's okay.

괜찮습니다. 저 금방 내려요. I'm fine. I'm getting off soon. (합쇼체 — a bit more formal, good with a stranger older than you)

저 다음 역에서 내려요. I get off at the next stop.

Giving a reason is the natural move. A bare 아니요 can sound like a flat refusal; adding 금방 내려요 tells them you're not rejecting their kindness, you just don't need it. Note that nobody says "you" in these sentences, and 저 (I) disappears half the time too — that's standard, and Korean sentences that drop 'I' and 'you' explains why it isn't rudeness.

The two sentences that come right after

Once you've stood up, you need to move — and moving on a crowded Korean subway has its own two-line script.

잠시만요. Just a moment / excuse me. (said while squeezing past someone)

내리세요? Are you getting off? (asked to the person standing between you and the door)

내리세요? is extremely common and sounds abrupt in English translation but is completely neutral in Korean. If the answer is no, they shift aside; if yes, you line up behind them. You can also announce yourself: 저 내릴게요. — I'm getting off.

One cultural note

Korean subway cars and buses have seats set aside at the ends for elderly, disabled and pregnant passengers — 노약자석 — and there are usually separate seats marked for pregnant passengers, 임산부 배려석. You'll often see them stay empty even when the car is packed. As a visitor, the easy rule is: don't sit there. Not because someone will shout at you, but because standing is a two-minute cost and sitting there is the kind of thing people quietly notice.

And one last thing about the body language. When you offer the seat, a small nod — a 목례, a head-dip rather than a bow from the waist — is the finishing touch. Don't bow deeply on a moving train. A tilt of the head and 여기 앉으세요 is exactly right.

FAQ

How do you say "please sit here" in Korean?

여기 앉으세요. 여기 means "here" and 앉으세요 is the polite request form of 앉다 (to sit). This is the standard sentence for offering your seat to an older person on a bus or subway. For a friend, 여기 앉아 (반말) or 여기 앉아요 is enough.

How do I politely refuse when a Korean person offers me their seat?

Say 아니에요, 괜찮아요 — "no, it's okay" — with a small smile and a slight shake of the head. Adding a reason makes it warmer: 저 금방 내려요 ("I'm getting off soon"). If the person is clearly older than you, the 합쇼체 version 괜찮습니다 sounds a little more respectful.

What does 양보하다 mean in Korean?

양보하다 means "to yield" or "to give way," and 자리를 양보하다 is the set phrase for giving up your seat to someone. The noun 자리 양보 is what Koreans call the custom itself. You'll hear it most often in the thank-you: 양보해 주셔서 감사합니다.

Practice

1. An elderly man gets on a crowded bus. You stand up. What do you say?
2. You want to offer your seat to someone, but you're not sure they want it. Use the question form.
3. Someone offers you their seat, but your stop is next. Decline politely with a reason.
4. Someone stands up for you and you take the seat. Thank them, mentioning what they did.
5. You need to get past a person standing by the door. What do you say?