espera un poco
/espeɾa un poko/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'wait a little' is espera un poco in Spanish.
In casual conversations, you might hear the colloquial form espera un ratito to mean 'wait a little while'. For higher levels of formality, you can say Le ruego que aguarde unos instantes (I kindly ask you to wait a few moments) or Permítame unos momentos, por favor (Allow me a few moments, please).
Did you know?
- While espera means 'wait', the verb esperar is also the primary word for 'to hope'.
- The word espera shares an unexpected ancestor with the English word 'desperate', as both stem from roots involving 'hope'.
- Adding the suffix to create ratito in the phrase espera un ratito doesn't just mean 'a little rat' but refers to a 'little moment'.
Examples in context
- Espera un poco más.Wait a little more.Tatoeba #7778562 by arh, translation #9166426 by DJ_Saidez
- Por favor, espera un poco más.Please wait a little while longer.Tatoeba #1006297 by Shishir, translation #419663 by CK
- Le ruego que aguarde unos instantesI kindly ask you to wait a few moments
- Espera un ratitoWait a little while
- No hay problema, toma tu tiempoNo problem, take your time
- Espera un poco antes de salir.Wait a little before going out.
Example conversation
Mateo is still getting ready to leave the house.
- MateoYa estoy listo, vámonos.I'm ready, let's go.
- ElenaEspera un poco, Mateo. Busco mis llaves.Wait a little, Mateo. I'm looking for my keys.
- MateoDate prisa, llegaremos tarde.Hurry up, we'll be late.
- ElenaYa las tengo, ¡vamos!I have them now, let's go!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries espera, poco, un, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
