待 (dài): to wait

Meanings

1 to wait
2 to treat
3 to deal with
4 to need
5 going to (do sth)
6 about to

Characters

待

dài

to wait; to treat; to deal with

Examples

请耐心等待面试结果。

Qǐng nàixīn děngdài miànshì jiéguǒ.

Please wait patiently for the interview result.

他对待工作很认真。

Tā duìdài gōngzuò hěn rènzhēn.

He deals with his work very seriously.

我期待你的回来。

Wǒ qīdài nǐ de huílai.

I look forward to your return.

Tips

usage

As dài, 待 runs three senses that share a 'hold a position toward X' core: WAIT (等待, 期待), TREAT (对待, 招待, 接待), and 'pending / still needs' (有待解决, still needs solving).

mistakes

待 has two readings. Use dài (4th tone) for nearly every compound - 等待, 对待, 招待, 接待, 看待, 优待. Switch to dāi (1st tone) only when the meaning is physically 'stay / hang around' - colloquial 待会儿 and 待着, which is a variant of 呆.

Components

radical

彳 chì

step; left-step radical

Left-step radical on the left - the indexing semantic. 彳 depicts a short step, and 待 centers on holding a position along a path: waiting, dealing with, hosting. Joins the locomotion-and-stance family with 行 (walk), 往 (go toward), 役 (service), 德 (virtue).

phonetic

寺 sì

temple; office (here phonetic)

Right component supplies the sound: sì to dài with initial drift but rime preserved. 寺 originally meant a government office (now also temple), itself 土 (earth/place) over 寸 (measure/hand). As a phonetic it powers a tight cluster: 持 (hold), 时 (time), 等 (wait - close synonym!), 特 (special).