How to Say ‘Please wait’ in Japanese
お待ちください
o machi kudasai
[oh mah-chee koo-dah-sigh]
💬 Usage Tip: [お〜ください] is a very common polite pattern for requests. Here [待つ] becomes [お待ちください], and similarly [座る] becomes [お座りください].
Phrase Breakdown
お
o
[oh]
honorific prefix
Adds politeness to the request.
お待ちくださいと店員が言いました。
The staff said, 'Please wait.'
待ち
machi
[mah-chee]
waiting
From 待つ, meaning to wait; here it appears in a polite request.
お待ちくださいの間に席を確認します。
While you wait, I will check the seats.
ください
kudasai
[koo-dah-sigh]
please
A polite request ending used after a verb stem or te-form.
少々お待ちください。
Please wait a moment.
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