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等 (děng) — to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till

Definition

As a preposition, 等 means 'by the time / when / until' — introducing a time clause like 等他回来. Compared to 等到, it's the shorter, more colloquial form; 时 is just 'time' (a noun).

to wait forto awaitby the timewhentill
Easily confused

Examples

  • 等。
    Wǒ zài chē zhàn děng nǐ.
    I'm waiting for you at the station.
  • 等。
    děng Tā huí lái wǒ men zài chī fàn.
    We'll eat when he comes back.
  • 等，。
    Qǐng děng yí xià, wǒ mǎ shàng jiù lái.
    Please wait a moment, I'll be right there.

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4500 Most Frequent Chinese Words1000 Most Frequent Chinese Words2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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