排队

• Pinyin: pái duì
• Hanzi breakdown: 排 (pái) — to arrange, to line up; 队 (duì) — team, line, group

Meaning

To queue up; to line up; to stand in line. The act of forming or waiting in an orderly line.

Used whenever people need to wait their turn in an ordered line, such as at shops, restaurants, banks, or bus stops. Chinese culture places importance on orderly queuing, and signs saying 请排队 (please queue) are common in public spaces.

Examples

1. 买票的人太多了，要排队。 There are too many people buying tickets, you have to queue.
2. 请大家排队上车。 Please line up to board the bus.
3. 我们排了半个小时的队。 We waited in line for half an hour.

Usage Guide

Context: public places, everyday, travel

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 请排队等候。(Please queue up and wait.)
• 这家饭馆每天都要排队。(You have to queue every day at this restaurant.)

Don't Say

• 不要说'排队队' (Don't say 排队队 — 排队 is already a complete verb-object phrase; adding an extra 队 is redundant)

Origin & History

Verb-object compound of 排 (to arrange, to line up) and 队 (team, group, line). Literally means to arrange oneself into a line.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal