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待たなきゃ

have to wait, must wait

→ 待つ
待た wait (for) + なきゃ Must; have to
verb · informal Rare #44,448
have to wait, must wait A colloquial shortened form commonly used with いけない or ならない to mean “have to wait.”
JA: もう少し待たなきゃいけない。
EN: I have to wait a little longer.
Conjugation of 待つ
Necessitative
待つべき待たなきゃ

ここで待たなきゃならん

I gotta wait here.

— レザボア・ドッグス (1992)

どうしてクリスマスを待たなきゃいけないんだ？

Why do we have to wait until Christmas?

あとどれくらい待たなきゃいけないの？

How much longer do I have to wait?

俺はアパートの中でじっと電話を待たなきゃならなかった

I had to stay put in the apartment and wait for the phone call.

— レザボア・ドッグス (1992)