How do you say "Have you been waiting long?" in Simplified Chinese?

"Have you been waiting long?" in Simplified Chinese is "你等很久了吗？". This phrase is commonly used in China.

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How to Say ‘Have you been waiting long?’ in Simplified Chinese

Q: What does "你等很久了吗？" mean in English?

"你等很久了吗？" means "Have you been waiting long?" in English. Usage tip: [很久] here means "for a long time," and Chinese does not need a word like "for" before time phrases like this. The [了吗] at the end turns it into "Have you been waiting long?"

你等很久了吗？

nǐ děng hěn jiǔ le ma

[nee dung hun jee-oh luh mah]

💬 Usage Tip: [很久] here means "for a long time," and Chinese does not need a word like "for" before time phrases like this. The [了吗] at the end turns it into "Have you been waiting long?"

Phrase Breakdown

你

nǐ

[nee]

you

Used to address the person you are speaking to.

Example

你等很久了吗？真不好意思。

Have you waited a long time? I’m really sorry.

等

děng

[dung]

wait

Means to stay for some time until someone arrives or something happens.

Example

请你等我五分钟。

Please wait for me for five minutes.

很久

hěn jiǔ

a long time

An adverbial phrase meaning a long duration.

Example

我等了很久。

I waited for a long time.

Words in this phrase

很

hěn

[hun]

very

Used here to strengthen the time expression '很久' meaning 'a long time.'

Example

我今天很忙。

I’m very busy today.

久

jiǔ

[jee-oh]

long time

Means a long duration, often after waiting or knowing someone.

Example

我们认识很久了。

We have known each other for a long time.

了吗

le ma

already? / have ... ?

了 plus 吗 forms a question about whether something has already happened or a state has changed.

Example

你吃饭了吗？

Have you eaten?

Words in this phrase

了

[luh]

completed action particle

Used in this question to ask whether the waiting has already lasted until now.

Example

你等很久了吗？

Have you been waiting a long time?

吗

[mah]

question particle

Turns the sentence into a yes-no question.

Example

你到了吗？

Have you arrived?

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