How to say “Please wait a moment” in Chinese
“Please wait a moment” in Chinese is 请等一下。, written in pinyin as Qǐng děng yíxià.
请等一下。
Qǐng děng yíxià.
Please wait a moment.
Word by word
What each part of 请等一下。 actually means.
- 请qǐngplease
- 等děngto wait
- 一下yíxiàa moment
When you use it
- Say it when you need a few seconds — to find the word you want, to open a payment app, or to check the change. 请 in front keeps it a request and 一下 keeps it short.
- It is the phrase for someone who is mid-task: a cashier ringing up your basket, a clerk already serving another customer, a driver stopped at a light.
Use 请等一下。 in everyday situations. Greetings, thanks and the small words you use all day.
Other ways people say it
The same idea, said differently. Roughly in the order you'll hear them.
等一下。
Děng yíxià
Wait a moment.
Drop the 请 and this is what friends and colleagues say to each other all day. To a stranger it can land as abrupt, so keep the 请 there.
请稍等。
Qǐng shāo děng
Please hold on briefly.
The service-counter version. 稍 is the 稍 of 稍微 (slightly); you will hear it in shops, banks and on customer-service lines.
让我想想。
Ràng wǒ xiǎngxiang
Let me think.
Buying time for a decision rather than for a task. The doubled 想想 makes it "think a little", which is softer than a flat 想.
What usually trips people up
- 等一下 is not rude on its own — tone carries it. Said flatly to a stranger it reads as an order; with 请 in front it is a request.
- 等一下 points at the task, not at you. To mean "wait for me" while you are the one walking ahead, Chinese says 等我一下 — 等我 (wait for me) plus 一下.
- 一 changes tone here: it is yī standing alone but yí before a fourth tone like xià. The same shift gives 一个 (yí ge) and 一次 (yí cì).
What you might hear back
- 没问题。Méi wèntíNo problem.
- 慢慢来。Mànman láiTake your time.
- 马上好。Mǎshàng hǎoAlmost done.
Common questions
- How do you say "Please wait a moment" in Chinese?
- "Please wait a moment" in Chinese is 请等一下。 — written in pinyin as Qǐng děng yíxià. It is an everyday phrase you would use in China.
- What does 请等一下。 mean in Chinese?
- 请等一下。 (Qǐng děng yíxià) means "Please wait a moment". Broken down word by word: 请 (qǐng) means "please"; 等 (děng) means "to wait"; 一下 (yíxià) means "a moment".
- When would you use "Please wait a moment" in Chinese?
- Say it when you need a few seconds — to find the word you want, to open a payment app, or to check the change. 请 in front keeps it a request and 一下 keeps it short. It is the phrase for someone who is mid-task: a cashier ringing up your basket, a clerk already serving another customer, a driver stopped at a light.
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