等 (děng): to wait for, to await, by the time, when, till, and so on, etc., et al.
等 (děng) is a Chinese character meaning “to wait for.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺮ (structural) and 寺 (structural). It ranks #158 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 等 bamboo strips ⺮ laid before a court 寺. Its radical form 竹 (bamboo) appears in many related characters such as 笑 (xiào, to laugh), 第 (dì, (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth")), 答 (dā, bound form having the same meaning as the free word 答, used in 答應|答应, 答理 etc).
Definitions
- to wait for
- to await
- by the time
- when
- till
- and so on
- etc.
- et al.
Etymology & Origin
ideographicBamboo strips ⺮ laid before a court 寺
Decomposition: ⿱⺮寺 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 等 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 等
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 等待verb | děng dài | to wait | 5 |
| 等于verb | děng yú | to equal | 5 |
| 等候verb | děng hòu | to wait | 5 |
| 等到preposition | děng dào | to wait until | 4 |
| 平等adjective | píng děng | equal | 6 |
| 等级noun | děng jí | grade | 6 |
| 中等adjective | zhōng děng | medium | 6 |
| 高等adjective | gāo děng | high-level | 6 |
| 相等verb | xiāng děng | equal | 6 |
| 初等adjective | chū děng | elementary (i.e. easy) | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 等等 | děng děng | et cetera |
| 久等 | jiǔ děng | to wait for a long time |
| 头等舱 | tóu děng cāng | 1st class cabin |
| 上等 | shàng děng | highest quality |
| 头等 | tóu děng | first class |
| 同等 | tóng děng | equal to |
| 等离子 | děng lí zǐ | (physics) plasma |
| 二等 | èr děng | second class |
| 一等 | yī děng | first class |
| 等同 | děng tóng | to equate |
| 何等 | hé děng | what kind? |
| 坐等 | zuò děng | to sit and wait |
| 劣等 | liè děng | poor-quality |
| 均等 | jūn děng | equal |
| 优等 | yōu děng | first-rate |
等 appears in 100 compound words: 42 as the first character, 39 as the last, and 19 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 等 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
Showing 8 of 9 idioms containing 等.
Example Sentences
地震发生时，大家迅速撤离到安全地带。
Dìzhèn fāshēng shí, dàjiā xùnsù chèlí dào ānquán dìdài.
When the earthquake occurred, everyone quickly evacuated to a safe area.
...台灣談得太早?連賢明駁:還有301條款在等著
. . . tái 灣 談 dé tài zǎo ? 連 賢 míng 駁 還 yǒu 條 kuǎn zài děng zhù
Is it too early to discuss Taiwan? Lien Hsien-ming counters: Section 301 is still waiting.
...營地錄26宗執法 包括亂拋垃圾、非法生火等
. . . 營 dì 錄 zōng 執 fǎ bāo kuò 亂 拋 lā jī fēi fǎ shēng huǒ děng
...Campground records 26 enforcement actions, including littering and illegal fires.
川普对全球徵15%关税 巴西总统鲁拉吁平等对待各国
chuān pǔ duì quán qiú 徵 guān shuì bā xī zǒng tǒng lǔ lā xū píng děng duì dài gè guó
Trump imposes 15% tariffs globally; Brazilian President Lula calls for equal treatment of all nations
美對全球徵15%關稅 巴西總統魯拉籲平等對待...預計下月與川普會面
měi 對 quán qiú 徵 關 稅 bā xī 總 統 魯 lā 籲 píng děng 對 dài . . . 預 計 xià yuè 與 chuān pǔ 會 miàn
U.S. imposes 15% tariffs on global imports; Brazilian President Lula calls for fair treatment... Expected to meet with Trump next month
川普對等關稅被裁定違憲 分析師:企業促退稅需多年...
chuān pǔ 對 děng 關 稅 bèi cái dìng 違 憲 fēn xī 師 qǐ 業 cù tuì 稅 xū duō nián . . .
Trump's reciprocal tariffs ruled unconstitutional: Analyst: It takes years for businesses to push for refunds...
能不能请你等几分钟？
Néng bù néng qǐng nǐděng jǐ fēnzhōng?
Would you please wait for a few minutes?
现在有点慢，能不能等一下？
Xiànzài yǒudiǎn màn, néng bù néng děngyīxià?
It's a bit slow, can you wait for a bit?
为什么你不在这里等到我做完为止？
Wèishénme nǐ bù zài zhèlǐ děngdào wǒ zuòwán wéizhǐ?
Why don't you wait here while I finish what I'm doing?
能麻烦您等一个小时左右吗？
Néng máfan nín děng yī gè xiǎoshí zuǒyòu ma?
Can you wait about an hour?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 等 (děng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 等 have?
What is the radical of 等?
What are the components of 等?
What are common words containing 等?
What characters sound the same as 等 (děng)?
Is 等 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 等 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.