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How to Say ‘Could you wait for me a moment?’ in Simplified Chinese

麻烦您等我一下

má fán nín děng wǒ yī xià

[mah-fahn neen dung waw ee-shyah]

🇨🇳 In China: Opening with 麻烦您 (má fan nín), "sorry to trouble you", is the polite way to ask a stranger for a favour. It's especially useful when you're the one holding things up.

Phrase Breakdown

麻烦您

má fán nín

may I trouble you

麻烦您 is a polite way to ask a favor, like 'excuse me, could you...'.

Example

麻烦您帮我一下。

Could you please help me?

Words in this phrase

麻烦

má fán

[mah-fahn]

please; sorry to trouble you

A polite expression used before making a request to a customer.

Example

麻烦您留一下电话，我们好确认订位。

Please leave your phone number so we can confirm the reservation.

您

nín

[neen]

you (polite)

A respectful form of “you,” used when speaking politely to someone, such as a recruiter or company representative.

Example

很高兴认识您，希望向您多学习。

It’s a pleasure to meet you; I hope to learn more from you.

等我一下

děng wǒ yī xià

wait for me a moment

等 means to wait. 一下 softens it to 'a moment'.

Example

你等我一下。

Wait for me a moment.

Words in this phrase

等

děng

[dung]

to wait; to wait for

Means to wait for a person, time, event, or thing.

Example

我们先等比赛开始。

Let's first wait for the match to start.

我

wǒ

[waw]

First person pronoun used as the object, referring to the speaker.

Example

这个发展机会很适合我。

This development opportunity suits me very well.

一下

yī xià

[ee-shyah]

a bit; for a moment

Softens a request and makes it sound more polite or casual.

Example

请您留一下姓名和人数。

Please leave your name and number of people.

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