How to Say ‘I'm late.’ in Simplified Chinese
我来晚了。
wǒ lái wǎn le
[waw lie wahn luh]
💬 Usage Tip: Chinese often says "come late" for "be late," so [我来晚了] is a very natural way to apologize for arriving late. The [了] marks that this has now happened.
Phrase Breakdown
我
wǒ
[waw]
I; me
Used when talking about yourself.
我来晚了，对不起。
I’m late, sorry.
来
lái
[lie]
come; arrive
Refers to coming or arriving at a place.
我来学校的时候下雨了。
It rained when I came to school.
晚了
wǎn le
late; too late
晚 means “late”; 了 marks that the situation has changed or already happened.
我起晚了。
I got up late.
Words in this phrase
晚
wǎn
[wahn]
late
Describes arriving after the expected time.
今天我晚一点到。
Today I’ll arrive a bit late.
了
le
[luh]
completed action particle
Shows a changed state or completed action; here it marks that being late is now the case.
我来晚了，请原谅我。
I came late, please forgive me.
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