How to Say ‘It's a bit late.’ in Japanese
ちょっと遅いですね。
chotto osoi desu ne
[choht-toh osoi dess neh]
🇯🇵 In Japan: Saying something is ちょっと "a bit" late is the usual polite way to turn down an offer. Staff will understand it as a no and suggest something else.
Phrase Breakdown
ちょっと
chotto
[choht-toh]
a little; a bit; (softener) kind of…
Very useful to soften complaints/requests: 「ちょっと大きい」 sounds less aggressive than “too loud.”
すみません、音楽がちょっと大きいです。
Excuse me, the music is a little loud.
遅いですね。
osoi desu ne
is late, isn't it
遅い (osoi) means 'late' or 'slow'. ですね seeks gentle agreement. Say it 'o-so-i de-su ne'.
バスが遅いですね。
The bus is late, isn't it?
Words in this phrase
遅い
osoi
[osoi]
Slow/Late
Used to describe something that is not on time or moving slowly.
彼の動きは遅いです。
His movements are slow.
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.
少し伺いたいです。
I would like to ask a little.
ね
ne
[neh]
isn't it; right
Sentence-ending particle adding agreement, softness, or confirmation.
いいですねと共感を示します。
You show agreement by saying, That sounds good, right.
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