Meaning
wait
Chinese: 等待、时候或问候。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “hou” becomes a different word in each tone. 候 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 时候shí houtime; length of time; moment; period
- 有时候yǒu shí housometimes
- 小时候xiǎo shí houin one's childhood
- 那时候nà shí houat that time
- 气候qì hòu(meteorology) climate; (fig.) climate; prevailing conditions (in human affairs)
Example Sentence
请稍候，他马上就来。Qǐng shāo hòu, tā mǎ shàng jiù lái.Please wait a moment; he will come right away.
请Qǐngto ask稍候shāo hòuto wait a moment，他tāhe马上mǎ shàngat once就jiùthen来láito come。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The person radical 亻 plus 矦: ‘to wait, await; to inquire after, greet; a time, season; a condition, state’ (时候, 气候, 问候).
A way to remember it
‘To wait’; and ‘a time / season’: 时候, 气候.