Chinese word

等到

Pronunciation

Pinyinděng dào

Meaning

  • conjunctionuntil

Example

我们等到他到才开始。wǒ men děng dào tā dào cái kāi shǐ

We won't start until he arrives.

Illustration for 等到 (until)

More examples

别等到最后一刻才做准备。bié děng dào zuì hòu yí kè cái zuò zhǔn bèi

Don't wait until the last moment to prepare.

Core concept

Sets a time or event as a gate that must be reached before the next action begins.

Common phrases

  • 等到...才可以děng dào cái ké yǐ

    only after ___ can it be done

  • 等到今年秋天děng dào jīn nián qiū tiān

    until this autumn

  • 等到最后一刻děng dào zuì hòu yí kè

    until the final moment

Similar words

等děng: Introduces waiting for something to happen before doing something else.
一...就...yī jiù: Shows that one action follows immediately when another event happens.

Definition in Chinese

可作动词短语或时间连接词，表示将某动作或决定推迟到某一时刻或事件发生以后再进行。kě zuò dòng cí duán yǔ huò shí jiān lián jiē cí biǎo shì jiāng mǒu dòng zuò huò jué dìng tuī chí dào mǒu yì shí kè huò shì jiàn fā shēng yǐ hòu zài jìn xíng

Word origin

等 (děng, "wait") + 到 (dào, "arrive") joins waiting with reaching a point, giving the word its sense of holding an action back until that point.

Usage tips

  • The position of 等到 (děngdào, "until") helps distinguish Chinese from English: it often introduces the time clause first, while 才 (cái, "only then") highlights the delayed result.

Other meanings

  • wait untilverb
  • whenconjunction

Opposites

  • 一...就...yī jiùas soon asconjunction

Word lists with this word