Learn how to correctly translate the Chinese phrase '等我' into English. The video explains why 'wait me' is wrong and shows natural alternatives like 'wait for me' and 'give me a second'.
Key Takeaways
- '等我' should not be translated word-for-word as 'wait me'; use 'wait for me' instead.
- Use 'give me a second/minute' or 'hold on' for natural everyday requests to wait.
- Choose the phrasing based on how long the wait will be, from seconds to minutes.
- Direct translation from Chinese often produces unnatural English; learning set expressions helps.
What the video covers
- The video title points out that many learners incorrectly translate '等我' as 'wait me'.
- The correct structure is 'wait for me' when asking someone to wait for you.
- 'Wait for you' is shown as the form used when you are the one waiting for someone else.
- The speaker demonstrates natural phrasings such as 'Hold on' and 'Hold on for two minutes' for brief pauses.
- Expressions like 'Give me a second' and 'Give me four seconds' are presented as common ways to ask for a short wait.
- 'Give me five minutes' is shown as a way to request a longer delay.
- The phrase 'I just need to get a drink' is used as a natural example of explaining why you need to pause.
- 'I'll be with you in seconds' and 'I'll be with you in [time]' are offered as polite ways to indicate a short delay.
- The transcript contains a repetitive, garbled section (including the word 'sex' in place of time units), which appears to be a transcription error rather than intended content.
- The video is aimed at Chinese-speaking learners of English who want to avoid direct word-for-word translation errors.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Wait, wait for me, or wait for you. Be—I'll wait for you to like this video before continuing. Okay, nope, wait a moment. Hold on, hold on for two minutes. Don't start gossiping without me, or two, or five, all multiples of ten seconds, minutes.
Speaker A
seconds minutes give me four seconds give me give me a second give me five minutes seconds sex give me two sex I just need to get a drink second sex I'll be with you in seconds I'll be with you in
Speaker A
Give me four seconds. Give me, give me a second. Give me five minutes. Seconds. Sex. Give me two. Sex. I just need to get a drink. Second. Sex. I'll be with you in seconds. I'll be with you in—
Topics:English learningChinese to English translationwait for mecommon English mistakesEnglish phraseslearn EnglishChinese learnersdaily English expressionstranslation tipsESL











