座席 and 席: seating and places
Explore physical seating and broader uses of a place or seat.
A place provided for sitting
座席 (ざせき) means seating provided in a vehicle, theater, or similar place. 「座席の番号を確認しました」 means checking the seat number.
「座席を倒してもいいですか」 asks permission to recline a seat. It is a request, not a report that the seat has already been reclined.
A broader word for a seat
席 (せき) also means a seat: 「席が空いています」 says that a seat is available. It overlaps with 座席 in many contexts; they are not entirely different objects.
「少し席を外します」 means stepping away briefly. Do not interpret it literally as moving a chair outside.
Reservation and actual use
「席を予約しましたが、座席の位置はまだ分かりません」 means a place has been reserved but the seat location is still unknown. Reservation does not guarantee knowledge of the exact location.
「隣の席の人」 means the person in the neighboring seat. It locates a person by the seat rather than calling the person a 座席.
Does 「席を外しています」 establish that someone is absent from work?
Show the answer and why
No. It means being away from one's place; the person may simply be elsewhere briefly.