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Questions & Answers about Espera um bocado, por favor.
Why is it espera instead of esperas if this is for the informal "you"?
Espera is the imperative (command) form used for the informal "you" (tu). To tell a tu to do something, you usually drop the final -s from the present tense form (so tu esperas becomes espera). If you were speaking formally to a você, you would say espere.
What does um bocado literally mean?
It comes from the word boca (mouth), so it literally translates to a "mouthful" or "bite". In Portugal, um bocado is a very common colloquial way to say "a little bit" or "a short while" when talking about amounts of time.
Could I say um pouco instead of um bocado?
Yes, espera um pouco is also perfectly correct and means the same thing. However, um bocado is extremely natural and frequently used in everyday spoken Portuguese in Portugal.