Chinese word

原地

Pronunciation

Pinyinyuán dì

Meaning

  • adverbon the spot

Example

你就原地等我一下。nǐ jiù yuán dì děng wǒ yí xià

Just wait where you are for me a moment.

Illustration for 原地 (on the spot)

More examples

突发停电时，大家被要求在原地等待通知。tū fā tíng diàn shí dà jiā bèi yāo qiú zài yuán dì děng dài tōng zhī

During a sudden power outage, everyone was asked to wait where they were for further notice.

Core concept

A person or thing stays anchored at its starting place instead of moving forward.

Common phrases

  • 原地等候yuán dì děng hòu

    wait in place

  • 原地踏步yuán dì tà bù

    march in place

  • 原地不动yuán dì bú dòng

    stay still in place

Similar words

原地不动yuán dì bú dòng: Remaining completely still in the same place without starting to move.
就地jiù dì: Doing something at the current place without going somewhere else.

Definition in Chinese

在原来的地点上不改变位置，多用于表示暂时停留或不前进。zài yuán lái de dì diǎn shàng bù gǎi biàn wèi zhì duō yòng yú biǎo shì zàn shí tíng liú huò bù qián jìn

Word origin

原地 (yuándì, "original place") combines 原 (yuán, "original") + 地 (dì, "place"), giving a direct image of remaining where movement began.

Usage tips

  • English often uses "original" for an earlier version or source, but this word points to a physical location in the current situation.

Other meanings

  • placenoun
  • at the sceneadverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 原地踏步yuán dì tà bùmarch in placeverb
  • 原地待命yuán dì dài mìngwait in place for ordersverb

Word lists with this word