Wait in Different Languages
Discover 'Wait' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Wait
Afrikaans wag | ||
Albanian prisni | ||
Amharic ጠብቅ | ||
Arabic انتظر | ||
Armenian սպասեք | ||
Assamese অপেক্ষা কৰক | ||
Aymara suyaña | ||
Azerbaijani gözləmək | ||
Bambara ka kɔnɔ | ||
Basque itxaron | ||
Belarusian пачакай | ||
Bengali অপেক্ষা করুন | ||
Bhojpuri रूक | ||
Bosnian čekaj | ||
Bulgarian изчакайте | ||
Catalan espera | ||
Cebuano paghulat | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 等待 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 等待 | ||
Corsican aspittà | ||
Croatian čekati | ||
Czech počkejte | ||
Danish vente | ||
Dhivehi މަޑުކޮށްލާ | ||
Dogri बल्गो | ||
Dutch wacht | ||
English wait | ||
Esperanto atendu | ||
Estonian oota | ||
Ewe lala | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) maghintay | ||
Finnish odota | ||
French attendez | ||
Frisian wachtsje | ||
Galician agarda | ||
Georgian დაველოდოთ | ||
German warten | ||
Greek περίμενε | ||
Guarani eha'arõ | ||
Gujarati રાહ જુઓ | ||
Haitian Creole tann | ||
Hausa jira | ||
Hawaiian kali | ||
Hebrew לַחֲכוֹת | ||
Hindi रुको | ||
Hmong tos | ||
Hungarian várjon | ||
Icelandic bíddu | ||
Igbo chere | ||
Ilocano aguray | ||
Indonesian tunggu | ||
Irish fan | ||
Italian aspettare | ||
Japanese 待つ | ||
Javanese ngenteni | ||
Kannada ನಿರೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿ | ||
Kazakh күте тұрыңыз | ||
Khmer រង់ចាំ | ||
Kinyarwanda rindira | ||
Konkani वाट पळोवची | ||
Korean 기다림 | ||
Krio wet | ||
Kurdish payin | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) چاوەڕوان بە | ||
Kyrgyz күтүү | ||
Lao ລໍຖ້າ | ||
Latin manere | ||
Latvian pagaidi | ||
Lingala zela | ||
Lithuanian laukti | ||
Luganda linda | ||
Luxembourgish waart | ||
Macedonian чекај | ||
Maithili रुकू | ||
Malagasy miandry | ||
Malay tunggu | ||
Malayalam കാത്തിരിക്കുക | ||
Maltese stenna | ||
Maori tatari | ||
Marathi प्रतीक्षा करा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯉꯥꯏꯌꯨ | ||
Mizo nghak | ||
Mongolian хүлээх | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) စောင့်ပါ | ||
Nepali पर्ख | ||
Norwegian vente | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) dikirani | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଅପେକ୍ଷା କର | | ||
Oromo eegi | ||
Pashto انتظار | ||
Persian صبر کن | ||
Polish czekać | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) esperar | ||
Punjabi ਉਡੀਕ ਕਰੋ | ||
Quechua suyay | ||
Romanian aștepta | ||
Russian подождите | ||
Samoan faʻatali | ||
Sanskrit प्रतीक्षतु | ||
Scots Gaelic feitheamh | ||
Sepedi leta | ||
Serbian чекати | ||
Sesotho ema | ||
Shona mira | ||
Sindhi انتظار ڪريو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ඉන්න | ||
Slovak počkaj | ||
Slovenian počakaj | ||
Somali sug | ||
Spanish espere | ||
Sundanese antosan | ||
Swahili subiri | ||
Swedish vänta | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) teka | ||
Tajik интизор шавед | ||
Tamil காத்திரு | ||
Tatar көт | ||
Telugu వేచి ఉండండి | ||
Thai รอ | ||
Tigrinya ፅናሕ | ||
Tsonga yima | ||
Turkish bekle | ||
Turkmen garaş | ||
Twi (Akan) twɛn | ||
Ukrainian почекай | ||
Urdu انتظار کرو | ||
Uyghur ساقلاپ تۇرۇڭ | ||
Uzbek kutmoq | ||
Vietnamese chờ đợi | ||
Welsh aros | ||
Xhosa yima | ||
Yiddish וואַרטן | ||
Yoruba duro | ||
Zulu linda |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | 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". |
| Albanian | The verb "prisni" shares the same Indo-European root "per-s" with the English word "forbear". |
| Amharic | The word “ጠብቅ” is a loanword of the Arabic verb “طلب”, which in Amharic means “wait” |
| Arabic | 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. |
| Armenian | The word “սպասեք” is also used to mean “to expect” or “to anticipate” in Armenian. |
| Azerbaijani | Derived from Proto-Turkic *köz- "to see", also means "expect, look". Opposite word is "gör"/"kör- " "to not see, be blind". |
| Basque | The Basque word "itxaron" is derived from the Proto-Basque root *itxar-, meaning "to hope". |
| Belarusian | The word "пачакай" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *čakati, meaning "to expect" or "to wait for." |
| Bengali | The word “অপেক্ষা” (ôpêkkha: wait) comes from Sanskrit 'upa-īkṣayati' meaning 'to look towards' (to look out for someone or something). |
| Bosnian | "Čekati" can also mean "to expect" or "to hope for" in Bosnian. |
| Bulgarian | The word "изчакайте" is derived from the Slavic root "чакати" meaning "to expect". |
| Catalan | Catalan "espera" derives from Latin "spērāre" ("hope", "expect\"), but has also been influenced by the Arabic "aspera" ("waiting\") |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 等待 (dēng dài) can be broken down into two characters: 邓 (dēng) meaning "expect" and 待 (dài) meaning "to treat". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 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." |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "aspittà" is derived from the Latin word "aspectare", which means "to look at" or "to expect". |
| Croatian | The word "čekati" can also refer to "expect" or "hope" in certain contexts. |
| Czech | In Slovak, "počkajte" can also mean "understand" or "hold on". |
| Danish | Vente also means 'expectation' or 'hope' in Danish. |
| Dutch | The word "wacht" in Dutch can also mean "a watch" (as in a timepiece) or "a guard". |
| Esperanto | 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'. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "oota" is related to the Finnish word "odottaa", both meaning "to wait". |
| Finnish | The word "odota" is also used in the sense of "expect" or "hope". |
| French | "Attendez" also means "expect", "pay attention to" and "await" in French |
| Frisian | In Frisian, the word "wachtsje" can also refer to a short nap or a period of rest. |
| Galician | The Galician word "agarda" comes from the Latin "adgardam" which means "watching over" and is related to the French "attendre" (to wait). |
| Georgian | The Georgian word დაველოდოთ has Indo-European origins and is cognate with the Old Irish "dligid" meaning "to wait" |
| German | The word "warten" in German can also refer to tending to or guarding something. |
| Greek | 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'. |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "રાહ જુઓ" can also mean "to watch" or "to expect." |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "tann" is the equivalent of both "wait" and "expect" in English. |
| Hausa | The word "jira" can also refer to a waiting period or a delay. |
| Hawaiian | The Hawaiian word "kali" can also mean "to hold," "to carry," or "to endure." |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "לַחֲכוֹת" derives from the Akkadian word "lahtu" and originally meant "to stand at a distance". |
| Hindi | The word "रुको" also has alternate meanings like "hold" or "pause" in Hindi. |
| Hmong | "Tos" in Hmong can also mean "stop" or "halt". |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "várjon" comes from Proto-Finnic "*wár-, *wárjo" which is related to Proto-Uralic "*war-, *warko-" (to wait). |
| Icelandic | Bíddu may also mean "to ask" or "to pray" in Icelandic. |
| Igbo | Chere, meaning "wait", also denotes "calm" and "be patient" in Igbo culture. |
| Indonesian | The Indonesian word "tunggu" also means "expect", "anticipate", or "look forward to". |
| Irish | The word "fan" in Irish can also mean "stay" or "remain". |
| Italian | The word "aspettare" derives from the Latin word "aspectare" which means "to look forward to" or "to expect". |
| Japanese | In Japanese, "待つ" has different kanji depending on the situation and duration of waiting. |
| Javanese | "Ngenteni" is a Javanese word that can also mean "to expect" or "to anticipate". |
| Korean | 기다림 (wait) literally translates as "stand and watch". |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word 'payin' is derived from the Old Iranian word 'pai-' meaning 'to guard or protect'. |
| Kyrgyz | "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". |
| Latin | The Latin word "manere" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *men- ("to think"), and is related to the words "memory" and "mind". |
| Latvian | 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. |
| Lithuanian | In Baltic languages, this word is used to express the concept of "hope" or "expect". |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, the word "waart" can also mean "watch out" or "attention". |
| Macedonian | The word "чекај" also means "expect" in Macedonian. |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "miandry" shares a root with words meaning "patience" and "tolerance". |
| Malay | Malay's "tunggu" traces its origins, via Middle Malay, to Sanskrit's "tungga," meaning either "to await," "be suspended," or "a bundle of hay." |
| Malayalam | The word "കാത്തിരിക്കുക" can also mean "to expect" or "to anticipate" an event or action in Malayalam. |
| Maltese | In Maltese the word 'stenna' (wait) is often used to mean 'delay' in terms of 'being late'. |
| Maori | The word 'tatari' in Māori can also mean 'to delay' or 'to postpone'. |
| Marathi | The word "प्रतीक्षा करा" in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्रतीक्ष", which also means "expectation" or "hope". |
| Mongolian | “хүлээх” may also refer to an action taken by a deity or spirits. |
| Nepali | The word पर्ख shares its origin with the Sanskrit word पर्यंक, which had multiple meanings like 'bed', 'seat', and 'waiting'. |
| Norwegian | "Vente" is the imperative form of the Norwegian verb "vente", which means "to wait" or "to expect". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | "Dikirani" can also mean "to delay" or "to hesitate". |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "انتظار" is not derived from any other language and has no alternative meanings besides "to wait." |
| Persian | The verb 'صبر کن' is a cognate of the Arabic 'صبر' (patience), reflecting a wider cultural association between waiting and forbearance. |
| Polish | The Polish word "czekać" is related to the Czech word "čekat", the Slovak word "čakať", and the Russian word "ждать". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | Esperar derives from the Latin "sperare" meaning "to hope". |
| Romanian | »Aștepta« derives from the Latin word »spectare« (to look at), suggesting an original meaning of »to gaze intently«. |
| Russian | The word "Подождите" (wait) derives from the verb "подождать" (to wait) and the suffix "-те", which is used to form polite requests. |
| Samoan | "Fa'atali' is a polysemous word in Samoan meaning 'to wait', 'to stop', 'to delay', 'to pause', 'to hold back', and 'to be patient'" |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word 'feitheamh' can also refer to 'resting', 'delaying', 'expecting', 'watching' and 'lying in wait'. |
| Serbian | The word "чекати" also means "to expect" in Serbian. |
| Sesotho | In Zulu, "ema" also means "to eat", and in Xhosa, it means "to drink." |
| Shona | The Shona word 'mira' also means 'see' or 'look at' something |
| Sindhi | The word "انتظار ڪريو" in Sindhi also carries the connotation of "anticipating" or "looking forward to" something. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | Sinhala ඉන්න also means 'to remain', 'to be' or 'to exist', originating from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁es-. |
| Slovak | The word "počkaj" also means "hold on" or "just a moment" in Slovak. |
| Slovenian | The word počakaj is derived from the Slavic word |
| Somali | In Arabic, "sugh" means "delay" or "procrastination". |
| Spanish | The word “espere” is derived from the Latin word “sperare”, which means “to hope”. |
| Sundanese | Sundanese word "antosan" is derived from the word "anteng" meaning "silent" or "motionless". |
| Swahili | The word "subiri" in Swahili also means "be patient". |
| Swedish | The word "vänta" can also mean "to anticipate" or "to expect". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The word 'teka' in Tagalog can also mean 'let me see' or 'just a minute'. |
| Tajik | The word "интизор шавед" can also mean "look forward to" or "anticipate" in Tajik. |
| Tamil | 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. |
| Thai | The word 'รอ' also refers to the feeling of anticipation or eagerly expecting something to happen. |
| Turkish | "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." |
| Ukrainian | The word "почекай" in Ukrainian also means "to wait until something happens". |
| Uzbek | 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. |
| Vietnamese | "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. |
| Welsh | In Welsh, 'aros' also refers to a period of suspension or a period of time before something happens. |
| Xhosa | Yima also means 'to stay' |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "וואַרטן" shares a root with the German "warten" (also meaning "wait") and may have originated in Middle High German. |
| Yoruba | "Duro" in Yoruba can also mean "to remain" or "to endure." |
| Zulu | 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. |
| English | The word "wait" originally meant "to lie in ambush" or "to watch for". |