How to Say ‘Please wait a moment.’ in Japanese
少々お待ちください。
shoushou o machi kudasai
[SHOH-shoh oh MAH-chee kudasai]
💬 Usage Tip: 少々 (shōshō) is a polite word for "a little", and both vowels are long. In casual speech the same request would be ちょっと待って.
Phrase Breakdown
少々
shoushou
[SHOH-shoh]
a little; a moment
Formal word for a small amount or short time, common in service speech.
少々お時間をいただきます。
It will take a little time.
お
o
[oh]
honorific prefix used in polite expressions
The polite prefix お makes the following word sound more courteous.
お願いできますか。
Could you please do that?
待ち
machi
[MAH-chee]
wait
Stem of the verb 待つ (to wait), used before polite endings.
駅で友達を待ちます。
I wait for my friend at the station.
ください
kudasai
[kudasai]
please
A polite request word used after the て-form of a verb.
チケットを見せてください。
Please show me the ticket.
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