# Pronunciation: 待



## yuechu

大家好！

I was recently reading the following sentence in a book: "出了老张家门，围在外面的村民纷纷询问师父最后商谈的结果，师父只说一切待第二天晨时自有分晓，然后径（？）自带着释然回到了山上。"
How do you pronounce 待 here? Also what does it mean? (Could someone translate this whole sentence? Thanks so much!)


----------



## Skatinginbc

待 dai4 "wait for"

第二天 "the second day": I assume it refers to "the next day".
晨時 "morning time, the time period between dawn and noon".
第二天晨時 "the next morning"

一切 "everything": I think in this context it refers to the outcome of their discussion and their actions taken accordingly.
[結果/真相/答案/一切] 自有分曉 "[outcome/truth/answer/everything] will reveal itself or come out"

待第二天晨時一切 (subject of a subordinate clause) 自有分曉 ==> Topicalization: 一切 (topicalized subject of a subordinate clause) 待第二天晨時自有分曉

師父只說一切待第二天晨時自有分曉 _The master only said that they had to wait for the next morning when the outcome would be known to all_.


yuechu said:


> How do you pronounce 待 here?


To be honest with you, I would naturally say dai1, which is _incorrect _in this context but sounds smoother than qie4dai4di4er4 (切待第二) with four 4th-tones in a row.  You may see it as a kind of idiosyncratic tone sandhi in fast speech.


----------



## SuperXW

Skatinginbc said:


> To be honest with you, I would naturally say dai1, which is _incorrect _in this context but sounds smoother than qie4dai4di4er4 (切待第二) with four 4th-tones in a row.  You may see it as a kind of idiosyncratic tone sandhi in fast speech.


I would naturally say dai4, instead of dai1, and I'll find dai1 rather strange.
For 待, we pronounce dai4 in most cases, which means "to wait".
Only in 待在那里, we pronounce it dai1, which means "to keep the position".


----------



## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> For 待, we pronounce dai4 in most cases, which means "to wait".  Only in 待在那里, we pronounce it dai1, which means "to keep the position".


I knew. And believe it or not, it is my habit as well to make that distinction, and my ears would usually perk up when I hear an utterance that violates the rule.  Even so, the particular phonetic environment in this sentence constitutes an exception for me.

Anyway, my point: Although the correct pronunciation is dai4, incidents of erroneous pronunciation may occasionally be encountered especially when 待 is sandwiched by two 4th-tones.


----------



## yuechu

Thanks again, Skatinginbc and SuperXW!


----------



## retrogradedwithwind

If a longer pause was made while reading that sentence, it would easy to pronounce dai4


----------



## yuechu

How about here:
"人生在世，注定要受许多委屈。
而一个人越是成功，他所遭受的委屈也越多。
要使自己的生命获得价值和炫彩，就不能太在乎委屈，不能让它们揪紧你的心灵、扰乱你的生活。
要学会一笑置之，要学会超然*待*之，要学会转化势能。
智者懂得隐忍，原谅周围的那些人，在宽容中壮大自己。 "
Would you pronounce 待 in this context dāi or dài? (And what does it mean?)
Thanks!


----------



## yu wan

yuechu said:


> How about here:
> "人生在世，注定要受许多委屈。
> 而一个人越是成功，他所遭受的委屈也越多。
> 要使自己的生命获得价值和炫彩，就不能太在乎委屈，不能让它们揪紧你的心灵、扰乱你的生活。
> 要学会一笑置之，要学会超然*待*之，要学会转化势能。
> 智者懂得隐忍，原谅周围的那些人，在宽容中壮大自己。 "
> Would you pronounce 待 in this context dāi or dài? (And what does it mean?)
> Thanks!


dài
待：对待（treat / take）
超然待之： take sth lightly


----------



## yuechu

Thanks, Yu wan! 
Is it a 成语, perhaps? Or is it from 古文？(I am wondering whether it is either of these because it seems hard to understand... but maybe that's just because it is a foreign language for me)


----------



## yu wan

yuechu said:


> Thanks, Yu wan!
> Is it a 成语, perhaps? Or is it from 古文？(I am wondering whether it is either of these because it seems hard to understand... but maybe that's just because it is a foreign language for me)


yes, it is very difficult to understand, even for some native speakers. I can see you are already doing excellent in your learning.
I think "超然待之" is neither a 成语，nor from 古文.  Although it is a kind of traditional expression. it is totally fine if you would like to ignore it 
by the way, the paragraph you mentioned I think it like some chicken soup for the soul (or inspirational speech)


----------



## SimonTsai

SuperXW said:


> Only in 待在那里, we pronounce it (dai, 1), which means "to keep the position".


'待' in '待會兒' is also pronounced (dai, 1).


yuechu said:


> And what does it mean?


It means exactly the same as that in '看待', which means 'to regard'.


> Is it a 成语, perhaps? Or is it from 古文？


'超然' is a set phrase originating from classical Chinese and is still in use. (Since this is not a thread about '超然', I am not going to explain what '超然' means. To have a better understanding, read 超然臺記.)


----------



## yuechu

Thanks, Yu Wan and SimonTsai, for your help!


----------

