Synonym Comparison
The Nuance Difference: "待ちます" vs "もっていく"
Master the exact conceptual boundary between these Japanese terms.
Japanese Term A
待ちます
まちます (machimasu)
N5 / CEFR Syllabus
VS
Japanese Term B
もっていく
もっていく (motte iku)
N5 / CEFR Syllabus
Nuance Contrast & Social Differences
In Japanese, both 待ちます and もっていく are often translated to English but have distinct usages.
待ちます (まちます (machimasu)) represents "to wait" (Level: N5) and typically represents Polite form of 待つ. Used for waiting for someone or something..
On the other hand, もっていく (もっていく (motte iku)) translates to "to take (something somewhere)" (Level: N5) and is used for Implies moving an object away from the current location towards another. '持っていく. Mixing these up can sound unnatural to native Japanese speakers!
Bilingual Sentence for "待ちます"
バスを待ちます。
I wait for the bus.
Bilingual Sentence for "もっていく"
明日、傘を持っていくのを忘れないでください。
Please don't forget to take your umbrella tomorrow.
Nuance Mastery Quiz
Which Japanese word perfectly fits this blank space?
Fill in the blank: "バスを ＿＿＿ 。" (Meaning: "I wait for the bus.")
🎉 Correct Answer!
Remember: "待ちます" fits here because it represents "to wait" in the context: "I wait for the bus.".