What does it mean word for word?
The phrase breaks down into 少々 (shoushou) meaning 'a little/a moment', お待ち (omachi) which is the polite form of the verb 'to wait' and ください (kudasai) meaning 'please'.
Which one should you use?
While 少々お待ちください is used in professional settings, ちょっと待って (chotto matte) is a casual way to say 'wait a moment' used with friends or family.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
少々お待ちください is a highly polite and formal way to ask someone to wait, commonly used by staff in customer service settings like shops, restaurants or telephone reception. For an even more respectful and formal way to say 'please wait', often used by customer service representatives, you can use お待ちいただけますか. The standard and commonly used formal expression for 'please wait' is お待ちください.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb 'wait' is used in the honorific form お待ち to show respect to the person being asked to wait.
How do you pronounce it?
shoushou omachi kudasai
Did you know?
- While お待ちください is polite, using it toward a superior in some strict corporate hierarchies can actually sound like a command, making お待ちいただけますか the safer choice.
- In Japanese business etiquette, if you use 少々お待ちください while on a telephone, it is customary to mute your microphone while you are actually performing the task to avoid letting the customer hear any background noise.
- If a shop assistant says 少々お待ちください and then fails to return within a reasonable time, it is considered a significant breach of 'omotenashi', the Japanese philosophy of wholehearted hospitality.
Examples in context
- 社長、お待ちください。Please wait, President.
- お待ちいただけますか？May I ask you to wait?
- ちょっと待ってくださいね。Please wait for a moment, okay?
- ちょっと待ってもらえますか？Could you wait for a moment, please?
- 少々お待ちください。Shōshō omachi kudasai.Please wait a moment.
- こちらで少々お待ちください。Kochira de shōshō omachi kudasai.Please wait here for a moment.
- 受付で少々お待ちください。Uketsuke de shōshō omachi kudasai.Please wait at the reception for a moment.
Example conversation
At a cafe, a staff member asks a customer to wait.
- 美咲 Misakiお席へご案内しますので、少々お待ちください。Oseki e goannai shimasu node, shōshō omachi kudasai.I will guide you to your seat, so please wait a moment.
- 大翔 Hirotoわかりました。Wakarimashita.I understand.
- 美咲 Misaki大翔様、こちらのお席へどうぞ。Hiroto-sama, kochira no oseki e dōzo.Mr. Hiroto, please take this seat.
- 大翔 Hirotoありがとうございます。Arigatō gozaimasu.Thank you very much.
