排队
pái duì
To line up in Chinese is to say 排队 (pái duì).
The primary way to say 'to line up' or 'to get into a line' is 排队. You can refine this meaning by using different phrases: use 整齐排队 to mean 'line up neatly', or 结队排列 to mean 'line up in formation'. If you want to express the concept of 'waiting in line' in a common formal way, use 排队等候.
Meaning: get into a line (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of two parts: 排 (pái), which means to arrange or line up and 队 (duì), which means a queue or a line.
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate that the action of lining up has been completed or that a new state has been reached, you can add the particle 了 after the phrase to get 排队了.
How do you pronounce it?
pái duì
Did you know?
- In modern Chinese cities, 排队 has moved from the physical world to the digital one, where 'virtual queuing' apps allow users to line up for famous restaurants from their phones.
- The character 排 (pái) can have the opposite meaning of 'to arrange' in other contexts, such as in 排除 (pái chú), which means 'to eliminate' or 'to push aside'.
- The term for 'rehearsing' a play, 排练, uses the same verb 排 because performing a scene requires arranging the sequence and positions of actors.
Examples in context
- 我们会排队进教室。We will line up and enter the classroom.
- 我们排队等候。We will line up and wait.
- 请在门口排队。Qǐng zài ménkǒu páiduì.Please line up at the door.
- 学生们正在排队进教室。Xuéshēngmen zhèngzài páiduì jìn jiàoshì.The students are lining up to enter the classroom.
- 我们要排队买票。Wǒmen yào páiduì mǎi piào.We need to line up to buy tickets.
Example conversation
At a busy coffee shop, a man and a woman are waiting for their drinks.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen这里的人很多，我们需要排队。Zhèlǐ de rén hěnduō, wǒmen xūyào páiduì.There are many people here, we need to line up.
- 志强 Zhiqiang好，我们去后面排队吧。Hǎo, wǒmen qù hòumiàn páiduì ba.Okay, let's go to the back and line up.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen志强，你看，那里已经有人在排队了。Zhìqiáng, nǐ kàn, nàlǐ yǐjīng yǒurén zài páiduì le.Zhiqiang, look, people are already lining up there.
- 志强 Zhiqiang没关系，我们排在后面就好。Méiguānxi, wǒmen pái zài hòumiàn jiù hǎo.It's okay, it's fine if we line up behind them.
