待(ま)ち遠(どお)しい

まちどおしい

i-adjective

looking forward to; eagerly awaited

Conjugation

	Affirmative	Negative
Present	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しい	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しくない
Past	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しかった	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しくなかった
て form	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しくて	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しくなくて
Adverbial	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しく	—
Conditional ば	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しければ	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しくなければ
Conditional たら	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しかったら	待(ま)ち遠(どお)しくなかったら

1. looking forward to; eagerly awaited; long-awaited

Describes the feeling of eagerly wanting something to arrive or happen soon. Expresses anticipation and impatience for a positive event.

夏休(なつやす)みが待(ま)ち遠(どお)しい。

I can't wait for summer vacation.

新作(しんさく)ゲームの発売(はつばい)日(び)が待(ま)ち遠(どお)しい。

I'm eagerly awaiting the release date of the new game.

桜(さくら)の季節(きせつ)が待(ま)ち遠(どお)しくて、毎日(まいにち)天気(てんき)予報(よほう)をチェックしている。

I'm so eager for cherry blossom season that I check the weather forecast every day.

Always used for positive anticipation — never for dreading something. The subject is the thing being awaited, marked by が.

Pattern: Xが待(ま)ち遠(どお)しい (can't wait for X)

Common collocations

春(はる)が待(ま)ち遠(どお)しい (looking forward to spring)
卒業(そつぎょう)が待(ま)ち遠(どお)しい (can't wait for graduation)
待(ま)ち遠(どお)しくてたまらない (so eager one can barely stand it)

Usage note: This is a compound adjective from 待(ま)つ (to wait) + 遠(とお)い (far). Despite containing 遠(とお)い, the combined meaning is not about physical distance but emotional anticipation.

Related Words

Compare: 楽(たの)しみにする (to look forward to)

general

Added 2026.3.3 18:47 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

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