انتظر لحظة.

انتظر is the imperative form of the verb انتظرَ, which means to wait.

So انتظر means wait! when speaking to one male.

In this sentence, the full meaning is Wait a moment.

In Arabic, the imperative verb already includes the subject you.

So انتظر by itself already means you wait! / wait!

You do not need to add a separate pronoun unless you want extra emphasis, and that is usually unnecessary here.

Arabic often says this more directly than English.

In انتظر لحظة, the word لحظة is the thing being waited: literally something like wait a moment.

So Arabic does not need a separate word like for here.

This is normal and very common with time expressions such as:

• انتظر دقيقة — Wait a minute
• انتظر قليلًا — Wait a little

لحظة means moment.

It is a feminine noun. In everyday use, it is very common in expressions asking someone to wait briefly.

So:

• لحظة = a moment
• انتظر لحظة = wait a moment

In fully vocalized, careful Modern Standard Arabic, you would often see:

انتظر لحظةً

The ً shows the accusative ending, because لحظة is the object of the verb.

However, in normal writing without full case endings, people often just write:

انتظر لحظة

And in actual speech, those final case endings are very often not pronounced. So the form you were given is completely normal to see.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

intaẓir laḥẓa

More carefully in full MSA with case ending:

intaẓir laḥẓatan

A few pronunciation notes:

• ظ is a heavy/emphatic z-like sound
• ح is a stronger breathy h sound, pronounced deeper in the throat
• the final ة in لحظة is usually heard like -a / -ah in pause

The final ة is called tāʾ marbūṭa.

Usually:

• in pause, it sounds like -a or -ah
• when followed by certain grammatical endings or in connected structures, the t sound can appear

So in this sentence, when said naturally on its own, لحظة is usually pronounced approximately laḥẓa.

But in a fully inflected reading, you may hear laḥẓatan.

انتظر is the imperative for one male.

If you are speaking to:

• one male: انتظر
• one female: انتظري
• two people: انتظرا
• a group of males or a mixed group: انتظروا
• a group of females: انتظرن

So the exact form changes depending on who is being addressed.

To one woman, say:

انتظري لحظة

The difference is the ending -ي on the verb:

• انتظر — to one man
• انتظري — to one woman

Everything else stays the same.

By itself, انتظر لحظة is a straightforward command: Wait a moment.

Its politeness depends a lot on tone and context. It can be completely fine, but if you want to sound more polite, you can add something like:

• من فضلك، انتظر لحظة. — Please wait a moment.
• لحظة من فضلك. — One moment, please.

So the basic sentence is correct, but you may soften it if needed.

Yes. Some common alternatives are:

• لحظة، من فضلك. — One moment, please.
• انتظر قليلًا. — Wait a little.
• دقيقة من فضلك. — A minute, please.

In strict MSA, انتظر لحظة is perfectly good, but in real-life use people often prefer shorter or softer expressions depending on the situation.

The dictionary form is the past tense verb:

انتظرَ

This means he waited.

From that verb, the imperative to one male is:

انتظر

So when looking it up in a dictionary, you would usually search for انتظر or for its root-related entry.

Yes. انتظر is related to the root ن ظ ر.

That root often has meanings connected with looking or considering, but in this derived form, انتظر means to wait.

This is very common in Arabic: the same root can produce different but related meanings in different verb patterns.

So even if you know نظر as to look, انتظر is a different verb form with the meaning to wait.