How to say “wait” in Chinese
wait (one's turn)
“Wait” in Chinese is 等候, děng hòu: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
等候 is read děng hòu: 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”.
In 时候 it is read with the neutral tone.
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 “等候”.
More words from the lesson “Politely at the counter”
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 等候, pinyin děnghòu.
What does 等候 mean?
等候 (děnghòu) means “wait (one's turn)”.
How do you write 等候?
等候 is 2 characters: 等 (děng) — wait; 候 (hòu) — time, season; wait. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 等候?
等候 is read děnghòu. Tones: děng — third tone, hòu — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“wait” in the lesson “Politely at the counter”
This word is from the topic “Services and formalities” 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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