How to Say ‘Was late’ in Simplified Chinese
晚了
wǎn le
[wahn luh]
💬 Usage Tip: [晚了] often means "late" as a situation, not just "was late" in the past. You'll also hear it in phrases like [太晚了] — "it's too late."
Phrase Breakdown
晚
wǎn
[wahn]
late
Means 'late' in time-related situations.
今天我晚了。
Today I was late.
了
le
[luh]
completed action particle
Here it helps show the situation has become so: someone is late now.
你晚了，我们已经开始了。
You’re late; we already started.
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