How to say “wait” in Chinese
wait (lit.)
“Wait” in Chinese is 等待, děng dài: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
等待 is read děng dài: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On top, 竹 “bamboo”.
On the left, 彳 “step”. Second reading: dài, “wait; treat someone”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “等待”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 等待. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 不要被动地等待机会búyàobèidòngdeděngdàijīhuìDon't wait passively for opportunities.
More words from the lesson “Usually and by chance”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “wait” in Chinese?
“Wait” in Chinese is 等待, pinyin děngdài.
What does 等待 mean?
等待 (děngdài) means “wait (lit.)”.
How do you write 等待?
等待 is 2 characters: 等 (děng) — wait; 待 (dāi) — stay, spend time. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 等待?
等待 is read děngdài. Tones: děng — third tone, dài — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“wait” in the lesson “Usually and by chance”
This word is from the topic “Time: at once and little by little” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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