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 koo-dah-sigh]
🇯🇵 In Japan: Staff say this when they need a short pause to check availability or prepare something. It's very routine and polite in customer service.
Phrase Breakdown
少々
shoushou
[shoh-shoh]
a moment; a little
Politely asks someone to wait briefly.
少々お待ちください。すぐ確認します。
Please wait a moment. I will check right away.
お待ちください
o machi kudasai
please wait
A very polite request form of '待つ' (to wait).
ここでお待ちください。
Please wait here.
Words in this phrase
お
o
[oh]
honorific prefix
Polite prefix used in customer service language.
お待ちくださいと言われました。
I was told, 'Please wait.'
待ち
machi
[mah-chee]
waiting
The noun-like stem of 'wait' in a polite request.
待ちくださいではなく、お待ちくださいと言います。
You say omachi kudasai, not machi kudasai.
ください
kudasai
[koo-dah-sigh]
please
Polite request expression used with verbs.
少々お待ちください。席を確認します。
Please wait a moment. I will check the seating.
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