等待
děngdài
In Chinese, the English noun or verb 'waiting' is expressed as 等待 (děngdài).
等待 is a transitive verb meaning to wait or to await. Unlike in English, where you typically say 'waiting for' someone, 等待 can be followed directly by the person or thing being waited for.
Meaning: the act of staying or remaining in expectation (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 等待 is composed of two parts: 等 (děng), meaning 'to wait' and 待 (dài), meaning 'to wait' or 'to treat/deal with'.
How do you pronounce it?
děngdài
Did you know?
- The character 等 also means 'grade' or 'class'. This is why a 'first-class' ticket or a 'grade A' product is described using the same word as 'waiting'.
- The character 等 is also used to mean 'and so on' or 'etcetera' when placed at the end of a list, such as in 'apples, oranges, and so on' (苹果, 橘子, 等).
- In Chinese, the concept of 'waiting' is often linked to 'patience' through the phrase 耐心等待, where 耐心 literally means 'heart-patience'.
Examples in context
- 我在等待着某个人。I'm waiting for someone.This sentence shows how to use 等待 to express waiting for a person.Tatoeba #10275161 by miaojiandao, translation #581822 by Shishir
- 我等待她对我的答复I'm waiting for her to answer me.This sentence demonstrates using 等待 when waiting for an answer.Tatoeba #11136309 by yibu, translation #11112318 by AmarMecheri
- 我在等待朋友的回信。I'm waiting for a reply from my friend.This sentence is useful for seeing how 等待 is used when waiting for a reply.Tatoeba #1691681 by sadhen, translation #13949874 by frpzzd
- 我在等待一份重要的文件。I'm waiting for an important document.
- 你可以在大厅等待。You can wait in the lobby.
- 请等一下，我马上回来。Please wait a moment, I'll be right back.
- 我在等公交车。I'm waiting for the bus.
- 他一直等你。He has been waiting for you.
- 等一下，我去拿东西。Wait a moment, I'll go get something.
- 我在等你I'm waiting for you
- 等待有点无聊Waiting can be boring
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two colleagues are talking about a project update.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen这个项目的等待时间太长了。Zhège xiàngmù de děngdài shíjiān tài cháng le.The waiting time for this project is too long.
- 志强 Zhiqiang是的，我也觉得很心急。Shì de, wǒ yě juéde hěn xīnjí.Yes, I feel anxious about it too.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我们只能继续耐心等待。Wǒmen zhǐnéng jìxù nàixīn děngdài.We can only continue to wait patiently.
- 志强 Zhiqiang好的，希望明天能有结果。Hǎo de, xīwàng míngtiān néng yǒu jiéguǒ.Okay, I hope there will be a result tomorrow.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
