חיכה \ חִכָּה
khiká
To wait in Hebrew, you can use the verb חיכה \ חִכָּה (khiká) or הִמְתִּין.
Meaning: delay until some event (verb)
Ways to say it
| Hebrew | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| חיכה \ חִכָּה | khiká |
| הִמְתִּין | himtín |
Both forms mean to delay an action until a certain event occurs.
Which one should you use?
The form הִמְתִּין is more formal and is often used in written literature or official contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you wish to command someone to wait using the informal verb, use the imperative form חַכֵּה. To say "you will wait" in the second-person masculine singular future tense, use תְּחַכֶּה.
How do you pronounce it?
khiká
Did you know?
- Hebrew has a specific word המתנה that means both 'the act of waiting' and 'a gift', depending on the vowels used, despite being spelled with the same letters.
- While חַכֵּה is the formal imperative for 'wait', in daily Israeli street slang, you will much more likely hear people use the word רגע (rɛˈɡa), which literally means 'a moment'.
- While the verb חַכֵּה is the grammatically correct imperative for 'wait', using it in a café might make you sound like you have stepped out of a 19th-century Hebrew novel.
Example sentences for Hebrew are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wait” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
