How to Say Wait in Japanese: From Chotto Matte to Shōshō Omachi Kudasai

The casual forms

Matte is the te form of matsu used as a request. On its own it is direct and often urgent, like wait! Chotto matte, wait a moment, is softer and the most common casual version.

Adding ne makes it gentler still, and mattete asks someone to keep waiting in a place until you arrive.

The polite and service forms

In business and service, the request uses the humble honorific form omachi. Shōshō, a little, is more formal than chotto, and kudasaimase adds the extra softness of shop and hotel staff.

Asking with itadakemasu ka, could I receive your waiting, is more deferential again and works well with superiors and clients.

When the wait is over

Returning to someone who waited is always acknowledged. Omatase shimashita is the standard polite line, used by shop staff, waiters, colleagues and anyone arriving slightly late.

Among friends the short omatase is enough, and adding an apology suits a longer wait.

On the phone

Phone calls make waiting more awkward, because the caller cannot see what you are doing. Explain briefly why you need them to wait, and if the wait might be long, offer to call back instead.

Waiting as a customer

When you are the one waiting, you need to ask how long, check whether people are in line, and tell staff you are happy to wait. The word machi after a time means a wait of that length.

Wait, hold on: interrupting

Chotto matte also works like hold on in English: to stop a conversation because something is wrong, or to buy time before answering. In polite settings, asking for time to think is softer than stopping the other person.

Choosing the level

Use this table to match the request to the listener.

Unihongo's roleplay missions include phone calls and shop counters where the AI Sensei asks you to wait or waits for you, so both sides of the exchange get practised, and the corrections in the session report can show where a casual matte crept into a polite conversation.