木村：会社の近くにタイ料理店ができたんですよ。ちょっと行ってみませんか。
山田：今日はちょっと都合が悪いんです。またこの次にお願いします。
Chotto
Kimura: Kaisha no chikaku ni tai ryoori ten ga dekita'n desu yo. Chotto itte mimasen ka.
Yamada: Kyoo wa chotto tsugoo ga warui'n desu. Mata kono tsugi ni onegai shimasu.
Kimura: A Thai restaurant has just opened near the office. What about having a go at it?
Yamada: Today's not so good. I've got some other plans. How about next time?
Chotto has many uses and it
is impossible to give one overall English translation. For example, when someone says, "Why not have a try at it?" we can respond Chotto (I'd rather not).
Kore, chotto tabete mimasen ka (Why not give this a taste), and Chotto eikaiwa wo benkyoo shiyoo to omou'n desu (I think I just might have a go at studying some English conversation) , are two more examples. Though understandable without chotto, the sen- tences take on a softer tone with its use. Since Japanese of- ten prefer indirectness in their speech, chotto is an extremely useful expression.
Chotto can also be used in negative expressions such as, Watashi ni wa chotto muri desu (That would be just impossible for me.), and Ashita made ni wa, chot- to dekisoo mo arimasen (There just doesn't seem to be anyway I can finish it by tomorrow). For Japanese who prefer not to refuse outright, this use of chotto can be quite handy.
President Bill Clinton was recently reported to have told Russian President Boris Yeltsin that Japanese sometimes use yes to mean no. I wonder what personal experiencess led Clinton to say that It is a fact, after all, that depending on how one translates laoanese into English, yes and no can get turned around in their meanings.
Dictionaries often list "a little" as the first meaning for chotto. One of my students had an interesting experience relating to this. Bob went into a store and bought some cigarettes. As he was leaving the proprietor came running shouting, "Chotto." Bob just couldn't understand why the man was shouting, "A little!" In fact, of course, chotto was short for Chotto matte ku-dasai (Hold on there).
Chotto is also an interjection as in Chotto, anata (Hey, honey). This comes in handy when I want my husband to help me around the house.