استنى ثانية.

In Egyptian Arabic, it is usually pronounced something like istanna sānya.

• استنى → is-TAN-na
• ثانية → SAAN-ya or SAAN-iya

A very common Egyptian feature is that ث is pronounced like s, so ثانية often sounds like sānya, not thāniya.

استنى is an imperative verb, so it means wait!

In Arabic, the imperative already includes the idea of you, so there is no separate word for you in the sentence. English needs Wait!, but Arabic can simply say استنى.

By default, استنى is the form used when speaking to one man.

If you want other forms, they change:

• to one woman: استني
• to more than one person: استنوا

So the sentence changes depending on who you are talking to.

Arabic does not use an indefinite article like English a/an.

So ثانية by itself can mean a second.
That is why استنى ثانية naturally means wait a second without needing a separate word for a.

Not necessarily.

Even though ثانية literally means second, in everyday speech استنى ثانية is often used like:

• wait a sec
• hold on a moment
• just a second

So it often means a short pause, not a mathematically exact second.

Because in Egyptian Arabic, the letter ث is very often pronounced as s in everyday speech.

So:

• ثانية in careful or formal pronunciation: thāniya
• ثانية in everyday Egyptian pronunciation: sānya

This is a normal dialect feature, not a mistake.

It is Egyptian Arabic.

The clearest Egyptian part is استنى, which is a very common everyday Egyptian verb for wait.

In Modern Standard Arabic, you would more likely see something like:

• انتظر ثانية
• انتظر لحظة

So if you hear استنى ثانية, it sounds colloquial and natural in Egypt.

It is usually neutral and natural, but like English wait a second, the tone matters a lot.

If you want to sound softer or more polite, you can add something like:

• استنى ثانية لو سمحت — wait a second, please
• استنى بس ثانية — just wait a second
• معلش، استنى ثانية — sorry / excuse me, wait a second

So the basic sentence is fine, but you can soften it if needed.

In Egyptian Arabic spelling, verbs like استنى are often written with final ى.

For learners, the important thing is this:

• it is not pronounced like ee
• it ends with an a-like sound: istanna

So when you read استنى, think istanna, not istannī.

Yes. A few common alternatives are:

• استنى لحظة — wait a moment
• استنى شوية — wait a little
• استنى بس — just wait

These all sound natural, but استنى ثانية is a very common everyday way to say wait a second.