Chinese word

久等了

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiǔ děng le

Meaning

  • interjectionsorry to keep you waiting

Example

抱歉让您久等了。bào qiàn ràng nín jiú děng le

Sorry to keep you waiting.

Illustration for 久等了 (sorry to keep you waiting)

More examples

不好意思，久等了，我们可以开始了吗？bù hǎo yì si jiú děng le wǒ men ké yǐ kāi shǐ le ma

Sorry to keep you waiting; can we start?

Core concept

A brief acknowledgment that another person has been left waiting too long, carrying recognition of the delay and an apology.

Common phrases

  • 不好意思，久等了bù hǎo yì si jiú děng le

    sorry to keep you waiting

  • 真是让您久等了zhēn shì ràng nín jiú děng le

    really sorry to keep you waiting

Similar words

不好意思bù hǎo yì si: A relaxed everyday way to show mild embarrassment or offer a light apology.
抱歉bào qiàn: A concise, fairly polite apology for causing someone inconvenience.
对不起duì bù qǐ: A serious, formal apology for wrongdoing or major inconvenience.

Definition in Chinese

表示承认自己或让对方等待已久并表示歉意的口语短语，语气比正式表达更简练，常见于见面、接待或服务场景。biǎo shì chéng rèn zì jǐ huò ràng duì fāng děng dài yǐ jiǔ bìng biǎo shì qiàn yì de kóu yǔ duán yǔ yǔ qì bǐ zhèng shì biǎo dá gèng jiǎn liàn cháng jiàn yú jiàn miàn jiē dài huò fú wù cháng jǐng

Word origin

久 (jiǔ, "long") + 等 (děng, "wait") + 了 (le, "situation now established") forms a spoken acknowledgment that a long wait has occurred and is now being addressed.

Usage tips

  • In customer-facing speech, adding an explicit apology makes the register more formal than using this short spoken formula alone.

Word lists with this word