How to Say One Moment Please in Korean (잠시만 기다려 주세요)

What you'll learn

• Ask someone to wait with 잠시만 기다려 주세요 and 잠깐만요.
• Offer to transfer a call with 바꿔 드릴게요.
• Pick a more respectful form for customers with 기다려 주시겠어요?
• Pronounce the tense sounds in 잠깐 and 드릴게요.

Before you start: you should know that 주세요 means "please give" and that 요 makes a sentence polite. The guides to hello on the phone in Korean and wait a moment in Korean go well with this page. Time: about 10 minutes. Audio plays only when you press a button.

Key facts

• 잠시만 기다려 주세요 (jamsiman gidaryeo juseyo) is the standard polite phrase for "please wait a moment".
• 잠깐만요 (jamkkanmanyo) means "just a second" and fits everyday talk.
• 바꿔 드릴게요 (bakkwo deurilgeyo) means "I will transfer you".
• 기다려 alone is a casual command and rude to customers.
• 드릴게요 sounds like [드릴께요].

How Do You Say One Moment Please in Korean?

The standard polite answer is 잠시만 기다려 주세요. It has three parts: 잠시만 ("just for a moment"), 기다려 ("wait") and 주세요 ("please do it for me"). The structure -아/어 주세요 turns a verb into a polite request, so 기다리다 (gidarida, "to wait") becomes 기다려 주세요.

잠시 (jamsi) and 잠깐 (jamkkan) both mean "a short time". 잠시 sounds a little more formal and is used on the phone, and 잠깐 is more everyday. The added 만 means "only", so 잠시만 says "only for a moment", which is a polite way to promise that you will be quick. The forms are built from the verb 기다리다, which is regular: 기다려요 is the polite present and 기다렸어요 the past.

Once you know the pattern 기다려 주세요, you can reuse it with other verbs: 말해 주세요 (malhae juseyo, "please tell me"), 도와주세요 (dowajuseyo, "please help me"; 도와주다 is written as one word) and 천천히 말해 주세요 (cheoncheonhi malhae juseyo, "please speak slowly"). Only the verb changes, and the polite request stays the same.

What Are the Polite Ways to Say One Moment Please?

All polite forms keep 요 or 세요, and the more respectful ones add the honorific -시-. The guide to Korean speech levels explains the levels in full.

Polite: 잠시만 기다려 주세요 (jamsiman gidaryeo juseyo)

This is the form to learn first. It fits phone staff, shop clerks, receptionists and anyone who needs a short pause.

Extra Respectful: 기다려 주시겠어요? (gidaryeo jusigesseoyo)

주시겠어요 adds the honorific -시- and the softening -겠-, so the sentence becomes a question: "would you be so kind as to wait?" Call-centre staff use this with customers, often with 고객님 (gogaengnim, "dear customer").

Formal: 잠시만 기다려 주십시오 (jamsiman gidaryeo jusipsio)

The -십시오 ending is formal. You hear it in recorded messages, announcements and written signs.

Polite and Short: 잠깐만요 (jamkkanmanyo)

잠깐만요 asks for a short pause in everyday life. You can use it to ask a shop clerk to wait, to stop someone who is leaving or to find your wallet.

Polite and Humble: 바꿔 드릴게요 (bakkwo deurilgeyo)

바꿔 드릴게요 means "I will switch it for you", which is how Koreans say "I will put you through" when a call goes to someone else. 드리다 is the humble verb for "to give", so the speaker lowers themselves to show respect.

Casual: 잠깐만 (jamkkanman)

With friends and family, drop the ending and say 잠깐만. It also appears as 잠깐만 기다려 (jamkkanman gidaryeo), "wait a sec".

Next, the sounds.

How Do You Pronounce 잠시만 기다려 주세요?

잠시만 기다려 주세요 has nine syllables: jam-si-man gi-da-ryeo ju-se-yo. Each one is clear, and the whole phrase is said as three beats of three syllables. The ㅕ in 려 starts with a quick "y" and then moves to an unrounded ㅓ, so keep your lips relaxed.

Sound Changes to Listen For

• 잠깐만요 is often [잠깐만뇨] in common speech. After the final ㄴ, 요 often picks up an n sound, so you may hear [잠깐만뇨]; careful speech links straight into 요, [잠깐마뇨]. Revised Romanization adds no n and writes jamkkanmanyo. The tense ㄲ in 잠깐 is part of the spelling, so it is written kk.
• 바꿔 드릴게요 is [바꿔 드릴께요]. After the future-type ending -ㄹ, a ㄱ is always tense (Standard Pronunciation Article 27), so 게요 sounds like [께요]. Revised Romanization does not mark a tensing caused by a neighbouring sound, so it writes geyo.
• 잠시만 기다려 주세요 has no such change. Say each syllable evenly.
• 주십시오 is [주십씨오]. After a final ㅂ, ㅅ is tense (Article 23), and Revised Romanization writes jusipsio.

The page on Korean tensification explains these tense sounds. The question now is when to use each form.

When Should You Use 잠시만 기다려 주세요, and When Should You Not?

Use it when you need a short pause and want to stay polite. Phone staff say it first and then do the thing they promised, such as looking up an order or finding a colleague.

Situations Where It Fits

• Putting a caller on hold. 잠시만 기다려 주세요, then 바꿔 드릴게요 when you transfer the call.
• A counter or desk. A clerk says it while checking a record.
• A busy restaurant or office. It tells people that you have not forgotten them.
• A customer who asks a question you cannot answer yet. Say it before you check.

Situations to Avoid

• A long wait. If it will take minutes, give a reason, for example 확인하고 올게요 (hwaginhago olgeyo, "I will check and come back").
• A friend. The full phrase can sound cold, so use 잠깐만.
• A command tone. 기다리세요 is polite in form but can sound like an order to a customer.
• A moment of anger. Said sharply, even a polite 잠시만요 sounds like "wait, stop".

What Does One Moment Please Sound Like in a Real Conversation?

The pattern on the phone is fixed: greet, ask for the person, ask for a moment, transfer. Listen for the polite 요 endings and the pause after 기다려 주세요.

What to notice: 계세요 is the honorific "is (someone) there", and 과장님 (gwajangnim) is a manager with the respectful -님. The caller's question is a yes/no question and rises at the end.

What to notice: 기다릴게요 is pronounced [기다릴께요], the same -ㄹ게요 tensing as above. 끊지 말고 means "without hanging up", from 끊다 (kkeunta, "to cut off"). The ㅎ in ㄶ joins the ㅈ of 지 to make ㅊ, so 끊지 sounds like [끈치], and RR writes kkeunchi.

What to notice: 받을게 sounds like [바들께]. The speaker uses the casual 잠깐만 because the friend is close, and the reply 천천히 해 means "take your time".

What Should You Know about the Culture behind One Moment Please?

In Korean service, a short, polite request to wait is part of respect for the customer. Staff are trained to say it before they pause, and customers usually wait calmly when they hear it.

• Customers are addressed with 님. Phone staff say 고객님, and the verb takes the honorific -시-, which is why 기다려 주시겠어요 is common.
• Apology often comes first. 죄송하지만 (joesonghajiman, "I am sorry, but") softens the request.
• Recorded messages use the formal ending. A hold message says 잠시만 기다려 주십시오.
• A name beats a pronoun. Staff avoid "you" and use 고객님 or the title of the person.
• Gestures help. On the phone there is no gesture, so the tone of the voice must be warm.

An expert tip: learners who speak to Korean friends can say 잠깐만 for almost any pause. The longer phrases matter mainly when you work with customers.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with One Moment Please in Korean?

The mistakes come from the wrong register and from forgetting the helper 주세요.

The first and fourth mistakes matter most in work settings. Remember the rule that 주다 becomes 드리다 when you give something to a customer or an elder.

Is It the Same as Hold Please?

In English, "hold please" and "please wait" are close to one moment please. Korean uses the same phrases for all three, with small changes.

• Hold please in Korean: 잠시만 기다려 주세요, or for a call, 끊지 말고 기다려 주세요 ("please do not hang up").
• Please wait in Korean: 기다려 주세요 is the plain request, and 잠시만 makes it shorter and softer.

Related Phrases to Learn Next

Phone phrases come in a small set, so learn these in the same session:

• Hello on the phone in Korean: 여보세요, the opening line.
• Wait a moment in Korean: more ways to ask for a pause.

This guide belongs to the Korean phone phrases collection. What this page does not cover: business phone etiquette in detail, and the grammar of -아/어 주다, which has its own lesson. Say 잠시만 기다려 주세요 with a warm voice, and you can say one moment please in Korean at work and at home.

Practice: Say It Aloud

Play the slow clip of 잠시만 기다려 주세요 and repeat it three times, then 잠깐만요 and 바꿔 드릴게요.

Then choose a phrase for each situation. Answers follow.

1. You are a receptionist and a caller asks for the manager.
2. You are a clerk and need a customer to wait while you check stock.
3. You need a friend to wait while you tie your shoe.
4. You have found the right colleague and want to put the call through.

Answers

1. 네, 잠시만 기다려 주세요.
2. 잠시만 기다려 주시겠어요?
3. 잠깐만!
4. 바꿔 드릴게요.

The phrase flashcards drill these requests with audio.

Frequently Asked Questions

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