請稍等 / 请稍等
qǐng shāoděng
The English phrase 'one moment, please' is translated into Chinese as 請稍等 / 请稍等 (qǐng shāoděng). Wiktionary also lists 請等一下 / 请等一下 (qǐng děng yīxià).
Meaning: one moment please (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 請稍等 / 请稍等 | qǐng shāoděng |
| 請等一下 / 请等一下 | qǐng děng yīxià |
Both 請稍等 / 请稍等 and 請等一下 / 请等一下 are appropriate to use in service industries, such as when a receptionist or waiter asks a customer to wait. You can also use the phrase 请等我一下 to mean 'please wait a moment for me'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 請稍等 literally means 'please wait a bit'. The component 請 means 'please', 稍 means 'slightly/a little' and 等 means 'to wait'.
Which one should you use?
請稍等 is slightly more formal and polished than 請等一下. Conversely, 請等一下 is more colloquial and commonly used in daily spoken conversation.
How does it change in a sentence?
The term 一下 (yīxià) is a verbal quantifier used after a verb to indicate that an action is performed briefly or for a short duration.
How do you pronounce it?
qǐng shāoděng
Did you know?
- The character 等 used in these phrases also means 'grade' or 'class', such as when describing a first-class 一等 or second-class 二等 ticket.
- When using 等一下 in a busy shop, adding the particle 喔 (ō) at the end, as in 等一下喔, makes the request sound much softer and friendlier to the listener.
- In very formal settings, such as high-end hotels, staff may use 稍候 instead of 稍等, which replaces 'wait' with a word more akin to 'awaiting' or 'remaining'.
Examples in context
- 你好，请稍等，我会马上接待您。Hello, please wait a moment, I will attend to you immediately.
- 先生 / 女士，请您稍等片刻。Sir/Madam, please wait a moment.
- 哥们儿，等一下，我找一下地址。Buddy, wait a moment, I'm looking for the address.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “one moment, please” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
