排队 meaning in English

排队 is the everyday word for waiting in a line, at shops, banks, bus stops or restaurants. It is a verb plus object, so you can split it: 排了很久的队 (pái le hěn jiǔ de duì). Example: 请排队。(Qǐng páiduì.) Please line up.

排 (pái) has the hand radical 扌, so picture a hand putting things in a row. 队 (duì) means a team or line of people, so 排队 is arranging yourself into a line.

Common mistake: Learners often add an object directly after it, as in 排队电影票. Instead say 排队买电影票 (páiduì mǎi diànyǐng piào), line up to buy movie tickets. Also keep 队 (duì) in the fourth tone, not the first.