待つ

matsu

"待つ"의 의미는 무엇인가요?

wait

電車を待つ。

Wait for the train.


"待つ"의 올바른 사용법은?

formal

To stay in a place or remain inactive until someone or something arrives or a particular time.

友達を駅で待っている。

I am waiting for my friend at the station.

結果を待つしかない。

There's nothing to do but wait for the results.

Used for both physical waiting (e.g., trains, people) and abstract waiting (e.g., results, decisions).

Collocations

待ち合わせappointment/meeting待ち時間waiting time待ち伏せambush待ち望むto long for

Related Phrases

待ったなしphrase
no time to wait / urgent

Pro Tip

Particle Usage

待つ requires the particle を to mark what you're waiting for (e.g., バスを待つ 'wait for the bus'). Omitting を makes the sentence ungrammatical.

Gold Rule

Conjugation for Tense

待つ conjugates like a regular godan verb: 待ちます (polite present), 待った (past), 待って (te-form), etc. The te-form 待って is often used in commands or requests (e.g., ちょっと待って 'wait a moment').

Word Origin

From Old Japanese verb *matu*, related to Proto-Japonic *matu. Cognate with Korean '기다리다' (kidarida) and possibly Old Chinese '待' (dài), but the Japanese form is native.

Usage Notes

待つ is transitive and often followed by を (wo) to mark the object being waited for. It can also be used in compound verbs like 待ち合わせる (to meet up) or 待ち望む (to eagerly await).

Word Breakdown

待
to wait
root
+
つ
verb ending
suffix
和英辞典