odota

Odota is a Finnish word commonly used as the second-person singular imperative of the verb odottaa, which means "to wait" or "to expect". As an imperative, odota functions as a direct command or request equivalent to "wait!" or "hold on!" in English. It is frequently used in spoken and written Finnish in informal situations.

Typical usages include short exclamations such as "Odota!" and extended forms like "Odota vähän" ("wait a moment") or "Odota hetki" ("wait a bit"). The negative imperative form uses the auxiliary älä, as in "Älä odota" ("don't wait"). For plural or polite commands, Finnish uses the plural imperative odottakaa or the passive/agentless form odotetaan in more formal contexts.

Grammatically, odota reflects Finnish imperative formation patterns: it corresponds to the verb stem of odottaa and carries person and number information. The concept of waiting is expressed with related vocabulary and constructions depending on nuance, for example using time expressions or aspectual particles to indicate duration or expectation.

Odota is cognate with related verbs in other Finnic languages (for example Estonian oota) and appears across registers from casual speech to written dialogue. In digital communication it is also used as a brief request to pause or to signal that more information is forthcoming.