Wait in different languages

Wait in Different Languages

Discover 'Wait' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'wait' is a simple, two-syllable verb that carries a significant weight in our daily lives. It represents patience, anticipation, and the passage of time. From waiting for a friend to arrive, to waiting for a life-changing moment, the act of waiting is a universal human experience.

Culturally, the concept of waiting has been explored in various art forms, including literature, music, and film. In literature, waiting is often used as a narrative device to build tension and suspense. In music, songs about waiting evoke emotions of longing and hope. And in film, waiting is a common theme that resonates with audiences worldwide.

Given its significance and cultural importance, it's no surprise that someone might want to know the translation of 'wait' in different languages. For instance, in Spanish, 'wait' is 'esperar'; in French, it's 'attendre'; in German, it's 'warten'; and in Japanese, it's 'まつ wait'.

Exploring the translations of 'wait' in different languages not only broadens our linguistic skills but also deepens our understanding of cultural nuances and perspectives. So, let's delve into the world of language and discover more fascinating translations of 'wait'.

Wait


Wait in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaanswag
The Afrikaans word "wag" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*waihtjan", meaning "to wait", but is cognate with the English word "weigh", meaning "to measure weight".
Amharicጠብቅ
The word “ጠብቅ” is a loanword of the Arabic verb “طلب”, which in Amharic means “wait”
Hausajira
The word "jira" can also refer to a waiting period or a delay.
Igbochere
Chere, meaning "wait", also denotes "calm" and "be patient" in Igbo culture.
Malagasymiandry
The Malagasy word "miandry" shares a root with words meaning "patience" and "tolerance".
Nyanja (Chichewa)dikirani
"Dikirani" can also mean "to delay" or "to hesitate".
Shonamira
The Shona word 'mira' also means 'see' or 'look at' something
Somalisug
In Arabic, "sugh" means "delay" or "procrastination".
Sesothoema
In Zulu, "ema" also means "to eat", and in Xhosa, it means "to drink."
Swahilisubiri
The word "subiri" in Swahili also means "be patient".
Xhosayima
Yima also means 'to stay'
Yorubaduro
"Duro" in Yoruba can also mean "to remain" or "to endure."
Zululinda
The Zulu word 'linda', meaning 'wait', originates from the Proto-Bantu root word *-tidi, which also has the meaning 'stay'. This shared root suggests a historical connection between the concepts of 'staying' and 'waiting' in Bantu languages.
Bambaraka kɔnɔ
Ewelala
Kinyarwandarindira
Lingalazela
Lugandalinda
Sepedileta
Twi (Akan)twɛn

Wait in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicانتظر
In MSA, "انتظر" can mean to wait for a specific event or to wait generally, while in colloquial Arabic it usually refers to waiting for a person.
Hebrewלַחֲכוֹת
The Hebrew word "לַחֲכוֹת" derives from the Akkadian word "lahtu" and originally meant "to stand at a distance".
Pashtoانتظار
The Pashto word "انتظار" is not derived from any other language and has no alternative meanings besides "to wait."
Arabicانتظر
In MSA, "انتظر" can mean to wait for a specific event or to wait generally, while in colloquial Arabic it usually refers to waiting for a person.

Wait in Western European Languages

Albanianprisni
The verb "prisni" shares the same Indo-European root "per-s" with the English word "forbear".
Basqueitxaron
The Basque word "itxaron" is derived from the Proto-Basque root *itxar-, meaning "to hope".
Catalanespera
Catalan "espera" derives from Latin "spērāre" ("hope", "expect\"), but has also been influenced by the Arabic "aspera" ("waiting\")
Croatiančekati
The word "čekati" can also refer to "expect" or "hope" in certain contexts.
Danishvente
Vente also means 'expectation' or 'hope' in Danish.
Dutchwacht
The word "wacht" in Dutch can also mean "a watch" (as in a timepiece) or "a guard".
Englishwait
The word "wait" originally meant "to lie in ambush" or "to watch for".
Frenchattendez
"Attendez" also means "expect", "pay attention to" and "await" in French
Frisianwachtsje
In Frisian, the word "wachtsje" can also refer to a short nap or a period of rest.
Galicianagarda
The Galician word "agarda" comes from the Latin "adgardam" which means "watching over" and is related to the French "attendre" (to wait).
Germanwarten
The word "warten" in German can also refer to tending to or guarding something.
Icelandicbíddu
Bíddu may also mean "to ask" or "to pray" in Icelandic.
Irishfan
The word "fan" in Irish can also mean "stay" or "remain".
Italianaspettare
The word "aspettare" derives from the Latin word "aspectare" which means "to look forward to" or "to expect".
Luxembourgishwaart
In Luxembourgish, the word "waart" can also mean "watch out" or "attention".
Maltesestenna
In Maltese the word 'stenna' (wait) is often used to mean 'delay' in terms of 'being late'.
Norwegianvente
"Vente" is the imperative form of the Norwegian verb "vente", which means "to wait" or "to expect".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)esperar
Esperar derives from the Latin "sperare" meaning "to hope".
Scots Gaelicfeitheamh
The Gaelic word 'feitheamh' can also refer to 'resting', 'delaying', 'expecting', 'watching' and 'lying in wait'.
Spanishespere
The word “espere” is derived from the Latin word “sperare”, which means “to hope”.
Swedishvänta
The word "vänta" can also mean "to anticipate" or "to expect".
Welsharos
In Welsh, 'aros' also refers to a period of suspension or a period of time before something happens.

Wait in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianпачакай
The word "пачакай" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *čakati, meaning "to expect" or "to wait for."
Bosniančekaj
"Čekati" can also mean "to expect" or "to hope for" in Bosnian.
Bulgarianизчакайте
The word "изчакайте" is derived from the Slavic root "чакати" meaning "to expect".
Czechpočkejte
In Slovak, "počkajte" can also mean "understand" or "hold on".
Estonianoota
The Estonian word "oota" is related to the Finnish word "odottaa", both meaning "to wait".
Finnishodota
The word "odota" is also used in the sense of "expect" or "hope".
Hungarianvárjon
The Hungarian word "várjon" comes from Proto-Finnic "*wár-, *wárjo" which is related to Proto-Uralic "*war-, *warko-" (to wait).
Latvianpagaidi
In Latvian, the word “pagaidi” comes from the verb “gaidīt,” meaning “to expect” or “to wait for,” and can also be used in a more general sense to describe a state of anticipation or readiness.
Lithuanianlaukti
In Baltic languages, this word is used to express the concept of "hope" or "expect".
Macedonianчекај
The word "чекај" also means "expect" in Macedonian.
Polishczekać
The Polish word "czekać" is related to the Czech word "čekat", the Slovak word "čakať", and the Russian word "ждать".
Romanianaștepta
»Aștepta« derives from the Latin word »spectare« (to look at), suggesting an original meaning of »to gaze intently«.
Russianподождите
The word "Подождите" (wait) derives from the verb "подождать" (to wait) and the suffix "-те", which is used to form polite requests.
Serbianчекати
The word "чекати" also means "to expect" in Serbian.
Slovakpočkaj
The word "počkaj" also means "hold on" or "just a moment" in Slovak.
Slovenianpočakaj
The word počakaj is derived from the Slavic word
Ukrainianпочекай
The word "почекай" in Ukrainian also means "to wait until something happens".

Wait in South Asian Languages

Bengaliঅপেক্ষা করুন
The word “অপেক্ষা” (ôpêkkha: wait) comes from Sanskrit 'upa-īkṣayati' meaning 'to look towards' (to look out for someone or something).
Gujaratiરાહ જુઓ
The Gujarati word "રાહ જુઓ" can also mean "to watch" or "to expect."
Hindiरुको
The word "रुको" also has alternate meanings like "hold" or "pause" in Hindi.
Kannadaನಿರೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿ
Malayalamകാത്തിരിക്കുക
The word "കാത്തിരിക്കുക" can also mean "to expect" or "to anticipate" an event or action in Malayalam.
Marathiप्रतीक्षा करा
The word "प्रतीक्षा करा" in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्रतीक्ष", which also means "expectation" or "hope".
Nepaliपर्ख
The word पर्ख shares its origin with the Sanskrit word पर्यंक, which had multiple meanings like 'bed', 'seat', and 'waiting'.
Punjabiਉਡੀਕ ਕਰੋ
Sinhala (Sinhalese)ඉන්න
Sinhala ඉන්න also means 'to remain', 'to be' or 'to exist', originating from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁es-.
Tamilகாத்திரு
The term 'காத்திரு' originates from the Tamil word 'காத்தல்,' meaning 'protection' or 'guardianship', suggesting that 'waiting' in Tamil is not merely passive but involves active care and vigilance.
Teluguవేచి ఉండండి
Urduانتظار کرو

Wait in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)等待
等待 (dēng dài) can be broken down into two characters: 邓 (dēng) meaning "expect" and 待 (dài) meaning "to treat".
Chinese (Traditional)等待
The Chinese character 等待 (dǎidèng) is composed of two parts: the character 待 (dài), meaning "to wait," and the character 登 (dēng), meaning "to climb" or "to ascend."
Japanese待つ
In Japanese, "待つ" has different kanji depending on the situation and duration of waiting.
Korean기다림
기다림 (wait) literally translates as "stand and watch".
Mongolianхүлээх
“хүлээх” may also refer to an action taken by a deity or spirits.
Myanmar (Burmese)စောင့်ပါ

Wait in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiantunggu
The Indonesian word "tunggu" also means "expect", "anticipate", or "look forward to".
Javanesengenteni
"Ngenteni" is a Javanese word that can also mean "to expect" or "to anticipate".
Khmerរង់ចាំ
Laoລໍຖ້າ
Malaytunggu
Malay's "tunggu" traces its origins, via Middle Malay, to Sanskrit's "tungga," meaning either "to await," "be suspended," or "a bundle of hay."
Thaiรอ
The word 'รอ' also refers to the feeling of anticipation or eagerly expecting something to happen.
Vietnamesechờ đợi
"Chờ" is a Sino-Vietnamese word derived from Chinese "俟", which also means "to await". It can be used interchangeably with "đợi", which is a native Vietnamese word with the same meaning.
Filipino (Tagalog)maghintay

Wait in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanigözləmək
Derived from Proto-Turkic *köz- "to see", also means "expect, look". Opposite word is "gör"/"kör- " "to not see, be blind".
Kazakhкүте тұрыңыз
Kyrgyzкүтүү
"Күтүү" is derived from the word "күт-" (to expect, to await) and also means "to guard, to protect" or "to be on the lookout for".
Tajikинтизор шавед
The word "интизор шавед" can also mean "look forward to" or "anticipate" in Tajik.
Turkmengaraş
Uzbekkutmoq
The word "kutmoq" (wait) in Uzbek can also mean "to stop" or "to stand" and is related to the word "kutub" (pole or pillar) in Arabic.
Uyghurساقلاپ تۇرۇڭ

Wait in Pacific Languages

Hawaiiankali
The Hawaiian word "kali" can also mean "to hold," "to carry," or "to endure."
Maoritatari
The word 'tatari' in Māori can also mean 'to delay' or 'to postpone'.
Samoanfaʻatali
"Fa'atali' is a polysemous word in Samoan meaning 'to wait', 'to stop', 'to delay', 'to pause', 'to hold back', and 'to be patient'"
Tagalog (Filipino)teka
The word 'teka' in Tagalog can also mean 'let me see' or 'just a minute'.

Wait in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarasuyaña
Guaranieha'arõ

Wait in International Languages

Esperantoatendu
The verb 'atendu' in Esperanto relates to the French 'attendre' with the same meaning, and is often used in place of 'esti', the Esperanto verb for 'be'.
Latinmanere
The Latin word "manere" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *men- ("to think"), and is related to the words "memory" and "mind".

Wait in Others Languages

Greekπερίμενε
The word 'περίμενε' derives from the Greek word 'περιμένω', which means 'to watch over, guard'. It is cognate with the Latin word 'prehendo', which means 'to lay hold of'.
Hmongtos
"Tos" in Hmong can also mean "stop" or "halt".
Kurdishpayin
The Kurdish word 'payin' is derived from the Old Iranian word 'pai-' meaning 'to guard or protect'.
Turkishbekle
"Bekle" is related to the English word "beckon," and both come from an Old German word meaning "to beckon" or "to make a sign for." This root has also given us the English word "beacon."
Xhosayima
Yima also means 'to stay'
Yiddishוואַרטן
The Yiddish word "וואַרטן" shares a root with the German "warten" (also meaning "wait") and may have originated in Middle High German.
Zululinda
The Zulu word 'linda', meaning 'wait', originates from the Proto-Bantu root word *-tidi, which also has the meaning 'stay'. This shared root suggests a historical connection between the concepts of 'staying' and 'waiting' in Bantu languages.
Assameseঅপেক্ষা কৰক
Aymarasuyaña
Bhojpuriरूक
Dhivehiމަޑުކޮށްލާ
Dogriबल्गो
Filipino (Tagalog)maghintay
Guaranieha'arõ
Ilocanoaguray
Kriowet
Kurdish (Sorani)چاوەڕوان بە
Maithiliरुकू
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯉꯥꯏꯌꯨ
Mizonghak
Oromoeegi
Odia (Oriya)ଅପେକ୍ଷା କର |
Quechuasuyay
Sanskritप्रतीक्षतु
Tatarкөт
Tigrinyaፅናሕ
Tsongayima

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