Inklingo

How to Say "waiting" in Spanish

English → Spanish

esperando

/es-peh-RAHN-doh//es.peˈɾan.do/

Verb (Gerund)A2General
Use 'esperando' when you are actively waiting for a person or thing to arrive or for an event to happen.
A young child sitting patiently on a small wooden bench at a simple bus stop shelter, looking down an empty road with anticipation.

Examples

Estoy esperando el autobús.

I am waiting for the bus.

Mi hermana está esperando un bebé.

My sister is expecting a baby.

Sigo esperando que me llames.

I'm still hoping that you'll call me.

The Spanish '-ing' Form

'Esperando' is the '-ing' version of the verb 'esperar'. You almost always use it with a helper verb like 'estar' (to be) to talk about an action happening right now. Think of 'estar' + '-ando' as the Spanish recipe for 'is/am/are' + '-ing'.

Three Meanings in One

Unlike English, Spanish uses 'esperando' for 'waiting', 'hoping', and 'expecting'. The meaning is usually very clear from the rest of the sentence.

'Waiting for' is built-in

Mistake: “Estoy esperando por el tren.”

Correction: Estoy esperando el tren. The verb 'esperar' already includes the idea of 'for', so you don't need to add an extra word like 'por' or 'para'.

pendientes

pen-DYEN-tes/penˈdjentes/

AdjectiveB1General
Use 'pendientes' to describe tasks, decisions, or items that are pending, outstanding, or unresolved.
A tall, neat stack of unread brown envelopes tied together with a piece of red string, symbolizing pending tasks.

Examples

Tenemos varios pagos pendientes que debemos realizar antes del viernes.

We have several pending payments that we must make before Friday.

Dejé tres llamadas pendientes en mi lista de tareas.

I left three outstanding calls on my to-do list.

Las negociaciones están pendientes de la aprobación final del jefe.

The negotiations are waiting for the final approval of the boss.

Agreement

As an adjective, 'pendientes' must match the noun it describes in number and gender (e.g., 'tareas pendientes' - pending tasks; 'asuntos pendientes' - pending matters).

Verb Used

This adjective usually works with 'estar' (to be) to describe the temporary state of being unresolved: 'Las cosas están pendientes'.

Esperando vs. Pendientes

Learners often confuse 'esperando' (waiting for something to happen) with 'pendientes' (something that is outstanding). Remember, 'esperando' is an action you are doing, while 'pendientes' describes a state of being unresolved.

Related Translations

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