<p>Just like in English, you can say the same approximate meaning in different ways, as mentioned in another answer.</p>

<p>The 'why' behind this phenomenon is that it allows for differences in tone (not Mandarin tones, but the perceived emotional context of the phrase). For example, "wait for awhile" and "hang on for a min" have roughly the same meaning, but the latter is more casual. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-28T18:30:32.683Z
2017-06-28T18:30:32.683Z
kf_student
<p>Why not?</p>

<p>English has the similar phenomenon. For example, the following phrases have the same meaning:<br>
wait a bit<br>
wait a mo<br>
wait a moment<br>
wait a second<br>
wait a minute<br>
wait a jiffy<br>
wait a jiff</p>

<p>The following phrases have the same meaning:<br>
等一下<br>
稍等一下<br>
稍等一等<br>
稍等一會兒</p>

<p>等下 is not so common.</p>

<p>Usually, 等 means "to wait", not "to wait a second".<br>
For example, 等人 means to wait for somebody.
It is different from "to wait a second".</p>

<p>"Wait" can mean "wait a second" in English.
等 is not the same as 等一下 in Chinese.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-28T10:24:13.050Z
2017-06-28T10:24:13.050Z
young99
<p>I'm confused about some words in Chinese, it seems like most of the time there are multiple ways to say the same word by adding some &quot;basic particles&quot;  around it.</p>
<p>Like: <code>等</code>, <code>等下</code>, <code>等一下</code></p>
<p>To an online translator, it seems to mean the same. Is there any difference? Why is it like this?</p>
<p>As a new learner this makes listening and reading very complicated, because I never know where to cut the words in my head.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-28T11:38:47.227Z
forgot to mention 等等, which besides meaning "and so forth" also has the usual meaning associated with verb reduplication, see jukuu for examples (wait a minute), there are slight differences, search web for corresponding articles
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-28T11:49:03.657Z
corresponding articles:  https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=V%EF%BC%8BV+%E5%92%8C+V%EF%BC%8B%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%8B+%E7%9A%84%E7%9B%B8%E6%AF%94&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-002
user6065
<grammar><difference>
Why are there multiple ways to express "Wait a second" such as 等、等下、等一下？
# Why are there multiple ways to express "Wait a second" such as 等、等下、等一下？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-06-28)

I'm confused about some words in Chinese, it seems like most of the time there are multiple ways to say the same word by adding some "basic particles" around it.

Like: `等`, `等下`, `等一下`

To an online translator, it seems to mean the same. Is there any difference? Why is it like this?

As a new learner this makes listening and reading very complicated, because I never know where to cut the words in my head.

**Tags:** grammar, difference

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: forgot to mention 等等, which besides meaning "and so forth" also has the usual meaning associated with verb reduplication, see jukuu for examples (wait a minute), there are slight differences, search web for corresponding articles  
> **username_1**: corresponding articles:  https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=V%EF%BC%8BV+%E5%92%8C+V%EF%BC%8B%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%8B+%E7%9A%84%E7%9B%B8%E6%AF%94&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-002  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-06-28. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

Why not?

English has the similar phenomenon. For example, the following phrases have the same meaning:  
wait a bit  
wait a mo  
wait a moment  
wait a second  
wait a minute  
wait a jiffy  
wait a jiff

The following phrases have the same meaning:  
等一下  
稍等一下  
稍等一等  
稍等一會兒

等下 is not so common.

Usually, 等 means "to wait", not "to wait a second".  
For example, 等人 means to wait for somebody.
It is different from "to wait a second".

"Wait" can mean "wait a second" in English.
等 is not the same as 等一下 in Chinese.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2017-06-28. Score: 1

Just like in English, you can say the same approximate meaning in different ways, as mentioned in another answer.

The 'why' behind this phenomenon is that it allows for differences in tone (not Mandarin tones, but the perceived emotional context of the phrase). For example, "wait for awhile" and "hang on for a min" have roughly the same meaning, but the latter is more casual.


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