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'Sit down' or 'be sitting'? Body positions in Spanish

In English, one -ing form covers two different things. She is sitting can mean she is lowering herself into a chair right now, or that she has been in the chair for an hour. Spanish splits these two ideas. For the movement into a position it uses a reflexive verb: sentarse, levantarse, acostarse, tumbarse. For the position you are in afterwards, it uses estar plus a participle or a fixed phrase: estar sentado, estar de pie, estar acostado.

English speakers tend to translate is sitting word for word as está sentando. That form is a real one, but it means something else entirely. Others use the reflexive verb when they mean a state, so me siento comes out where estoy sentado was needed.

Word list
estar de pieA2 to stand estoy de pie = I am standing (de pie never changes) estar paradomA2 to stand está parado = he is standing (Latin America) estar sentadomA2 to sit está sentada = she is sitting (state, agrees in gender/number) levantarseA2 to get up me levanto a las siete = I get up at seven levantarseA2 to stand up se levantó = he stood up pararseA2 to stand up se paró = he stood up (Latin America, Spain: to stop) ponerse de pieA2 to stand up se puso de pie = he stood up sentarseA2 to sit down se sienta = she sits down (movement) acostarseB1 to lie down me acuesto = I lie down (movement) echarseB1 to lie down me echo un rato = I lie down for a bit estar acostadomB1 to lie está acostada = she is lying down (state) estar tumbadomB1 to lie está tumbado en la playa = he is lying on the beach sentarseB1 to take a seat siéntese = take a seat (formal) tumbarseB1 to lie down se tumbó en la hierba = he lay down on the grass arrodillarseB2 to kneel down se arrodilla = she kneels down (state: estar arrodillado) estar echadomB2 to lie el perro está echado = the dog is lying down estar tendidomB2 to lie está tendido en el suelo = he is lying on the floor estar tiradomB2 to lie está tirado en el sofá = he is sprawled on the sofa (informal) tenderseB2 to lie down se tendió en la cama = she lay down on the bed
How it works

Ask yourself one question: is the person moving into the position, or already in it?

  • Movement: reflexive verb. Me siento = I sit down. Se levantó = he got up.
  • Resulting state: estar + participle. Estoy sentado = I am sitting (I'm in a seat).

The participle works like an adjective, so it agrees with the person: sentado, sentada, sentados, sentadas.

Mi abuela está sentada junto a la ventana.
(My grandmother is sitting by the window.)
Siéntate, por favor.
(Sit down, please.)
Los estudiantes se sentaron.
(The students sat down.)
The words
Sitting

Sentarse is the movement (to sit down, to take a seat). Estar sentado is the state. The examples above show both.

Standing

For getting up, use levantarse (also for getting out of bed) or ponerse de pie. In Latin America, pararse is very common. For the state, use estar de pie everywhere, or estar parado in Latin America. Note that de pie never changes its form.

Me levanto a las siete.
(I get up at seven.)
Cuando entró la profesora, todos se pusieron de pie.
(When the teacher came in, everyone stood up.)
En mi trabajo estoy de pie todo el día.
(At work I'm standing all day.)
Estuvimos parados en la fila una hora, y luego Juan se paró y se fue.
(We stood in line for an hour, and then Juan got up and left.)
Lying

For the movement, use acostarse, tumbarse (very common in Spain), echarse (often for a short rest) or tenderse (a bit more formal). For the state, use estar acostado, estar tumbado, estar echado, estar tendido or the informal estar tirado, which suggests someone sprawled out.

Estoy cansada, voy a tumbarme un rato en el sofá.
(I'm tired, I'm going to lie down on the sofa for a while.)
Mi hermano está tumbado en la playa.
(My brother is lying on the beach.)
El perro está echado en la alfombra.
(The dog is lying on the rug.)
Kneeling

Arrodillarse is to kneel down. The state is estar arrodillado. Other postures follow the same pattern, for example agacharse (to crouch) and estar agachado (to be crouching).

Ana se arrodilló para atarle los zapatos al niño.
(Ana knelt down to tie the child's shoes.)
Watch out

Está sentando comes from non-reflexive sentar, which means to seat someone else, so it describes a waiter seating guests. Se está sentando is also correct, but it means someone is in the middle of sitting down right now. It does not mean they are seated.

No la llames ahora, se está sentando a cenar.
(Don't call her now, she's sitting down to dinner.)

Be careful with pararse and estar parado in Spain. There, pararse usually means to stop, and estar parado can mean to be stopped or even to be unemployed. In Spain, use levantarse or ponerse de pie for standing up and estar de pie for the state.

Also remember that acostarse often simply means to go to bed. Me acuesto a las once is about bedtime, not about lying on the floor.

Summary

If someone is moving into a position, use the reflexive verb: me siento, se levantó, nos tumbamos. If the person is already in that position, use estar + participle, and make it agree with the person: está sentada, están acostados, or use estar de pie. English is sitting in the sense of being seated is está sentado, never está sentando.