待つ
ma-tsu
"Hold on!" is waiting too
The picture Walking feet stop, and the body holds that spot until the next thing arrives. 待つ holds the spot until the next thing comes; 急ぐ refuses to stop and pushes the feet on.
Where the picture shows up in 待つ
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Standing in place
ロビーで待っています。
robī de matte i-masu
I'm waiting in the lobby.
Standing by a lobby pillar with a bag in hand, eyes fixed on the door.
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Hands stilled before news
会社からの電話を待っています。
kaisha kara no denwa o matte i-masu
I'm waiting for a call from the company.
The phone lies on the desk, the eyes stay on the screen, and the hands have stopped moving.
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Holding until the moment turns
信号が変わるのを待ちます。
shingō ga kawaru no o machi-masu
I'll wait for the light to change.
Toes at the edge of the crosswalk, face tilted up at the red signal.
～のを待つ is waiting for something to happen.
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Nothing left but to hold
結果が出るまで待つしかありません。
kekka ga deru made matsu shika ari-masen
There's nothing to do but wait for the results.
Sitting in a clinic corridor, both hands on the knees, eyes on the door.
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Stopping another hand
ちょっと待ってください、番号が違います。
chotto matte kudasai, bangō ga chigai-masu
Hold on — that's the wrong number.
A palm goes up just as the other person's seal comes down, and that hand stops in midair.
待ってください is not asking for time; it is stopping the action happening right now.
All of it in one picture
待つ is one picture: feet stopped, spot held. Stand in the lobby and you are waiting for someone; set the phone down and freeze your hands and you are waiting for a call; plant your toes at the crossing and you are waiting for the light; sit doing nothing until the result comes and you are waiting because nothing else is possible; say it to another person and you are stopping their hand in midair. In every one of these the thing that stops is your own feet, and the next move belongs to whatever has not arrived yet.