待 (dài): to wait, to treat, to deal with, to need, going to (do sth), about to
待 (dài) is a Chinese character meaning “to wait.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 彳 (structural) and 寺 (structural). It ranks #673 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 待 to welcome someone arriving 彳 at the royal court 寺. Its radical form 彳 (step) appears in many related characters such as 很 (hěn, very), 得 (dé, to obtain), 往 (wǎng, to go (in a direction)).
Definitions
- to wait
- to treat
- to deal with
- to need
- going to (do sth)
- about to
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo welcome someone arriving 彳 at the royal court 寺
Decomposition: ⿰彳寺 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 待 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 待
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 等待verb | děng dài | to wait | 5 |
| 期待verb | qī dài | to look forward to | 5 |
| 对待verb | duì dài | to treat | 5 |
| 看待verb | kàn dài | to look upon | 6 |
| 招待verb | zhāo dài | to hold a reception | 6 |
| 待遇noun | dài yù | treatment | 5 |
| 接待verb | jiē dài | to receive | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 虐待 | nüè dài | to mistreat |
| 待会儿 | dāi huì r | in a moment |
| 待命 | dài mìng | to be on call |
| 迫不及待 | pò bù jí dài | (idiom) unable to hold oneself back |
| 交待 | jiāo dài | variant of 交代[jiao1 dai4] |
| 招待会 | zhāo dài huì | a reception |
| 款待 | kuǎn dài | to entertain |
| 拭目以待 | shì mù yǐ dài | lit. to wipe one's eyes and wait (idiom) |
| 接待员 | jiē dài yuán | receptionist |
| 有待 | yǒu dài | not yet (done) |
| 坐以待毙 | zuò yǐ dài bì | to sit and wait for death (idiom) |
| 待续 | dài xù | to be continued |
| 优待 | yōu dài | preferential treatment |
| 善待 | shàn dài | to treat well |
| 整装待发 | zhěng zhuāng dài fā | to get ready (for a journey) |
待 appears in 100 compound words: 24 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 34 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 待 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (28)
synonym of 百廢待興 /百废待兴 (bǎifèidàixīng, “many abandoned or neglected tasks or projects are waiting to be undertaken”)
many abandoned or neglected tasks or projects are waiting to be undertaken
to conceal one's abilities and wait (idiom); to lie low and await the opportune moment
to wait for the highest bid before selling an item; to wait for the best job offer before providing one's service
synonym of 百廢待興 /百废待兴 (bǎifèidàixīng, “many abandoned or neglected tasks or projects are waiting to be undertaken”)
many abandoned or neglected tasks or projects are waiting to be undertaken
to wait for the highest bid before selling an item; to wait for the best job offer before providing one's service
Showing 12 of 28 idioms containing 待.
Example Sentences
待字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
dāi zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character "待" is difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
考文垂:期待“为奥运喝彩”项目组持续发挥文化桥梁作用
kǎo wén chuí : qī dài wéi ào yùn hē cǎi xiàng mù zǔ chí xù fā huī wén huà qiáo liáng zuò yòng
Coventry: We look forward to the "Cheers for the Olympics" project team continuing to play a cultural bridge
美关税新变局 台币走势将以盘待变
měi guān shuì xīn biàn jú tái bì zǒu shì jiāng yǐ pán dài biàn
New changes in US tariffs The trend of the Taiwan dollar will be waiting for changes
美元还能强多久?新台币盘整静待联准会“华许政策”
měi yuán hái néng qiáng duō jiǔ ? xīn tái bì pán zhěng jìng dài lián zhǔn huì huá xǔ zhèng cè
How long can the dollar be strong? The consolidation of the New Taiwan dollar awaits the Federal Reserve's "Huaxu policy"
秀茂坪顺利邨妇人堕楼亡 原因待查
xiù mào píng shùn lì 邨 fù rén duò lóu wáng yuán yīn dài chá
The cause of the death of a woman in Shunli Village, Sau Mau Ping, who fell from a building is to be investigated
悉尼中国文化中心2026新春招待会暨部省合作启动仪式举行
xī ní zhōng guó wén huà zhōng xīn 2 0 2 6 xīn chūn zhāo dài huì jì bù shěng gě zuò qǐ dòng yí shì jǔ háng
The 2026 Chinese Year Reception of the Chinese Cultural Center in Sydney and the launching ceremony of ministerial and provincial cooperation were held
你将在箱根待多久？
Nǐ jiāng zài Xiānggēn dāi duōjiǔ?
How long will you stay in Hakone?
你要在波士顿待多久？
Nǐ yào zài Bōshìdùn dài duōjiǔ?
How long are you going to be in Boston?
汤姆在波士顿待了多少年？
Tāngmǔ zài Bōshìdùn dài le duōshao nián?
How many years did Tom spend in Boston?
你为什么让汤姆那么对待你？
Nǐ wèi shénme ràng Tāngmǔ nàme duìdài nǐ?
Why do you let Tom treat you that way?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 待 (dài) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 待?
What are the components of 待?
What are common words containing 待?
What characters sound the same as 待 (dài)?
Is 待 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 待 with real-time feedback
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