等 meaning in English
to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till
Meaning of 等
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to wait for; to await
- by the time; when; till
- and so on; etc.; et al.
- (bound form) class; rank; grade
- (bound form) equal to; same as
- (used to end an enumeration)
- (literary) (plural suffix attached to a personal pronoun or noun)
How to use 等
As a verb, 等 means to wait, often with a person or thing after it: 等我 (děng wǒ) wait for me. It also ends a list like "etc." and appears in words about rank or equality such as 等级 (děngjí) and 平等 (píngděng). Example: 请等一下。(Qǐng děng yíxià.) Please wait a moment.
等 has bamboo ⺮ on top and 寺 (sì, temple) below. Picture bamboo slips at a temple office, sorted into equal ranks while people wait their turn.
Common mistake: Learners often write 等 with 艹 (grass) on top instead of bamboo ⺮, or confuse it with 待 (dài), which shares 寺 but has 彳 on the left. Also note that 等 takes its object directly, so say 等你 (děng nǐ), not 等为你.
等 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
等 děng · to wait for · 12 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 等.
| 等到 | děngdào | to wait until; by the time when (sth is ready etc) |
| 等于 | děngyú | to equal; to be tantamount to |
| 平等 | píngděng | equal; equality |
| 等待 | děngdài | to wait; to wait for |
| 等候 | děnghòu | to wait; to wait for |
| 等级 | děngjí | grade; rank |
| 相等 | xiāngděng | equal; equally |
| 中等 | zhōngděng | medium |
| 高等 | gāoděng | high-level; higher (animals, education etc) |
| 初等 | chūděng | elementary (i.e. easy) |
| 同等 | tóngděng | equal to; having the same social class or status |
| 等等 | děngděng | et cetera; and so on ... |
Questions about 等
What does 等 mean?
等 (děng) means "to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till" and is used as a verb, auxiliary verb and noun.
How do you write 等?
等 is made of 1 character: 等 (12 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 等 an HSK word?
Yes. 等 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you use 等 to mean "when" or "once"?
Put 等 before a clause about a future event, often with 再 or 就 in the next clause. 等他来了，我们再吃饭。(Děng tā lái le, wǒmen zài chīfàn.) We will eat once he arrives.
What is the difference between 等 and 等等 at the end of a list?
Both mean "and so on." 等 is more formal and common in writing, while 等等 (děngděng) feels a bit more spoken and emphatic. On its own, 等等 can also mean "wait a second."