Taxonomy of meanings for 待:　　

  • dài (OC: ɡ-lɯɯʔ MC: dəi) 徒亥切 上 廣韻：【待擬也俟也 】
    • WAIT
      • viactengage in waiting for things, remain in a place
      • vtoNN=humanwait for (a person) 待我二十五年
      • vtoNN=nonhuwait for (something desirable); wait until; wait for (a period of time); expect
      • vtoNpassivebe successfully or confidently waited for
      • vtoNPab{S}wait until S; wait whether S
      • vtoSwait until S
      • vtoSimperativewait until S! wait in this matter
      • vttoN1.+prep+N2wait for (something N1) from (a source N2)
      • vt(oN)wait for the contextually determinate N
      • vt prep Nwait for NCH
      • vt[oN]wait for things to comeCH
      • vttoN1.+prep+N2N2=placewait for somebody N1 at a place N2DS
      • modality of> PATIENT
        • vtoNwait patiently for> be patient with
      • abstract> RELY ON
        • vt+prep+Ndepend on
        • vtoN.adVrelying on (someone) (do something); depend on (something) in order to V
        • vtoNfactualrely and depend on
        • vtoNlogicZZ 1: depend on (something or somebody)
        • vtoNab{ACT}.-Vdepend of Nab-ing in order to V
        • by necessity> DEPEND ON
          • vtoNdepend on, be dependent onCH
          • and not have> NEED
            • vtoNneed, depend on (many examples from RELY ON need to be moved here)
        • be ready for, "wait upon"> SERVE
          • vtoNserve so as to satisfy the requirements of
          • generalised> TREAT
            • vt(oN)treat a contextually determinate person
            • vtoNtreat, meet, deal with, have contact with
          • on arrival> GREET
            • vtoNwelcome formallyCH
            • generalised:resulting action> REACT
              • vtoNrespond (to a situation or an event), deal with (an enemy)
            • generalised> PROVIDE
              • vtoNprovide
      • grammaticalised> WHEN
        • vt0oS1.adS2wait until S1 > when/after S1 (then S2) (compare Modern Mandarin 等到)

    Additional information about 待

    說文解字: 【待】，竢也。从彳、寺聲。 【徒在切】

      Criteria
    • TREAT

      1. The standard word for treating (or dealing with) someone or something in a certain way is dài 待.

    • YOU

      1. The current general second person pronouns are rǔ 汝 in informal contexts, and in polite contexts zǐ 子.

      2. The current informal pronoun is rǔ 汝, and this word is commonly used in imperatives.

      <div>3. Ěr 爾 is another informal second person pronoun, and the word is not generally used in imperatives.</div><div><br></div><div>4. Ruò 若 is a poetic/archaising second person pronoun that went out of current use in Tang (待考）times. </div><div><br></div><div>5. Jūn 君 addresses superiors as well as equals formally, and politely.</div><div><br></div><div>6. Qīng 卿 is probably stylistically colloquial and addresses inferiors informally.</div><div><br></div><div>7. Dà wáng 大王 is the polite formal address to any king, small or powerful. </div><div><br></div><div>8. Wú zǐ 吾子, extremely common in the Zuozhuan, is respectful and honorific, but in a communicativ and sometimes even intimate mode: ·鄭玄注："吾子，相貌之辞。<br></div><br>

    • WAIT

      1. The current general word for waiting is dài 待.

      2. Sì 俟 and the rare archaic xī 徯 refers to awaiting something urgently.

      3. Hòu 候 refers to lying in waiting for something, literally or metaphorically, ready to act on it.

      4. Xū 須 typically refers to taking one's time waiting patiently for something.

      NB: Děng 等 is post-Han.

    • REACT

      1. The general term for a responding action is yìng 應 (ant. gǎn 感 "stimulate").

      2. Bào 報 (ant.* 施 "take initiative to do something") refers specifically to some kind of paying back in kind, both positive and negative.

      3. Dài 待 is to respond to a situation as best one can.

      4. Huán 還 is occasionally used to mean "in return, by way of response".

    • RELY ON

      1. The general term for relying on something with confidence is yīn 因.

      2. Yī 依 refers to dependence and reliance on something which may be deliberate or non-deliberate.

      3. Běn 本 refers to an abstract often almost metaphysical or logical dependence on something.

      4. Dài 待 refers to logical dependence on something

      5. Rén 任 typically refers to reliance on someone inferior in the context of public administration.

      6. Yǎng 仰 typically refers to hopeful reliance on a superior.

      7. Chéng 乘 refers to manifest deliberate reliance on some external condition for the furthering of one's own plans.

      8. Jiè 藉 / 借 and jiǎ 假 refer to availing oneself of conveniently available outside things for one's own purposes.

      9. Jì 寄 and tuō 託 refer to entrusting oneself to others and thus relying on them.

      10. Shì 恃 and the rare hù 怙 refer to reliance on a typically hidden basic resource or factor.

    • PAST

      1. The most general current word for "formerly" referring to any time in the distant or recent past is probably xī 昔 (ant. jīn 今 "present").

      2. Wǎng 往 (ant. lái 來 "future") is a general technical term for the past.

      3. Céng 曾 marks an event as belonging to the past, and the word is highly grammaticalised. 待考

      4. Cháng 嘗 places an action or experience in the past, typically in so far as this past is experienced or witnessed by someone, remarkably often by the speaker himself.

      5. Gǔ 古 and gǔ zhě 古者 refer specifically to ancient times and not just generally to the past.

      6. Xiàng 鄉 / 曏 / 嚮 refers to the relatively recent past.

      7. Nǎng 曩 refers to the somewhat more distant past.

      8. Qǐng 頃 refer to the period a short time ago.

      9. Gù 故 tends to be used adjectivally to characterise something as being former rather than present, and the meaning is very neatly distinct from gǔ 古 which would characterise something as being old.\

      NB: Zuó 昨 refers specifically to something happening a day ago. See YESTERDAY.

      Word relations
    • Object: (WAIT)時/OPPORTUNITY The current word for an opportunity presenting itself is shí 時.
    • Contrast: (WAIT)須/WAIT Xū 須 typically refers to taking one's time waiting patiently for something.