Chinese word

待

Pronunciation

Pinyindāi

Meaning

  • verbstay

Example

我在家里待了一整天。wǒ zài jiā lǐ dāi le yì zhěng tiān

I stayed at home all day.

Illustration for 待 (stay)

More examples

旅行太累了，我们决定在酒店待两天。lǚ xíng tài lèi le wǒ men jué dìng zài jiǔ diàn dài liǎng tiān

The trip was too tiring, so we decided to stay at the hotel for two days.

Core concept

A settled pause that leaves a person in place, on hold, or under a host's care.

Common phrases

  • 待在酒店dài zài jiǔ diàn

    stay at the hotel

  • 待在宿舍dài zài sù shè

    stay in the dormitory

  • 待在公司dài zài gōng sī

    stay at the office

Similar words

等děng: Waiting for a person or thing to come, usually for a short time.
留liú: Staying on in a place without going away.

Definition in Chinese

留在某处不走，处于等候或待命的状态；作为词根可表示接待、对待等对人的处理方式。liú zài mǒu chù bù zǒu chǔ yú děng hòu huò dài mìng de zhuàng tài zuò wéi cí gēn kě biǎo shì jiē dài duì dài děng duì rén de chú lǐ fāng shì

Word origin

彳 (chì, "step") + 寺 (sì, "temple") form 待 (dài, "stay; wait"), whose early sense of remaining in place extends to waiting and treating people.

Usage tips

  • Duration phrases fit naturally with this verb, making it useful for describing how long someone remains in a place.

Other meanings

  • waitverb
  • entertainverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word