How to Say ‘I'm late.’ in Traditional Chinese
我遲到了。
wǒ chí dào le
[waw chr daw luh]
💬 Usage Tip: Chinese often drops "to be" before this kind of result phrase: [我遲到了] is literally "I became late/already late," not "[我是] late." The same pattern works in [我到了。] "I've arrived."
Phrase Breakdown
我
wǒ
[waw]
I; me
The speaker refers to themself as “I.”
我遲到了，所以趕快跑進教室。
I was late, so I quickly ran into the classroom.
遲到了
chí dào le
was late; arrived late
遲到 means “to be late.” The final 了 shows the action has happened.
我今天遲到了。
I was late today.
Words in this phrase
遲到
chí dào
[chr daw]
be late
Means “to be late.” This is useful when apologizing.
我遲到了，對不起讓你久等。
I was late. Sorry for making you wait a long time.
了
le
[luh]
completed action particle
Marks that the action or state is now true: “was late” or “have become late.”
我遲到了，大家已經開始了。
I was late; everyone had already started.
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