How to Say ‘Wait.’ in Japanese
ちょっとまって。
chotto ma tte
[choht-toh mah tteh]
💬 Usage Tip: [ちょっと] means “a little,” so [ちょっとまって] is like “wait a sec.” It sounds softer than plain [まて].
🇯🇵 In Japan: This is very natural Japanese in daily life too. You will hear it everywhere, not just with dogs.
Phrase Breakdown
ちょっと
chotto
[choht-toh]
a little; just a moment
ちょっと softens the command and means for a moment.
ちょっとまってね。
Wait a moment, okay?
ま
ma
[mah]
wait
ま is the start of まって, from 待つ, meaning wait.
ここでちょっとまって。
Wait here a moment.
って
tte
[tteh]
please wait
って completes まって, making it a casual request: wait.
そこでちょっとまって。
Wait there a moment.
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