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Chinese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "to wait" in Chinese?
等
děng
In Chinese, "to wait" is 等.
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Pronunciation
Say DUNG with a falling tone. The pitch starts high and drops sharply downward.
Writing and usage
The character has twelve strokes with a hand radical and a sun radical combined. It originally meant to look forward.
Example sentence
请等一下。
Please wait a moment.
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How to remember 等
Waiting involves a pause or delay. The falling tone mimics the patience required when waiting for something.
Related words
- call out 召唤 zhào huàn
- exercise 锻炼 duàn liàn
- open 打开 dǎ kāi
- throw 扔 rēng
- try 尝试 cháng shì
- turn on 打开 dǎ kāi
- wake up 醒 xǐng
- work 工作 gōng zuò
- write 写 xiě
Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.
Questions about 等
How do you say "to wait" in Chinese?
In Chinese, "to wait" is 等. It is a noun.
How is 等 written in Chinese?
The character has twelve strokes with a hand radical and a sun radical combined. It originally meant to look forward.
How is 等 used in a sentence?
Use 等 as you would use the equivalent noun in English. For example: 请等一下。 (Please wait a moment.).
Where can I practice Chinese words for free?
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"To wait" in other languages
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.
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