等一下

děng yíxià
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 wait a moment; hold on
  2. 2 in a moment; a little later

Examples

HSK 1
Wǒ xiànzài hěn máng, děng yíxià zài gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà.
I'm busy right now; I'll call you back in a bit.
HSK 2
Děng yíxià! Wǒ hái méi zhǔnbèi hǎo.
Wait! I'm not ready yet.
HSK 3
Qǐng zài zhèli děng yíxià, yīshēng mǎshàng jiù lái.
Please wait here a moment; the doctor will be right with you.

Tips

usage
Two uses: a request, 'wait a moment', and a time word before the verb, 'in a moment, later': 等一下再说 'let's talk about it later'. A person waited for goes in the middle: 等我一下 'wait for me a second'.
register
Everyday and friendly. 等等 is just as casual; 稍等 and 请稍候 are the polite forms heard from shop staff and on the phone.

Stroke Order

等 děng
一 yī
下 xià