How to Say ‘Sorry, I'm late.’ in Traditional Chinese
不好意思，我遲到了。
bù hǎo yì sī wǒ chí dào le
[boo how ee suh Wǒ chídào luh]
Phrase Breakdown
不好意思，
bù hǎo yì sī
Excuse me / Sorry,
A polite, light apology used often in Taiwan. 不 (bù) changes to bú before the fourth-tone 意? No. Here it stays bù because 好 is third tone: bù hǎo yìsi.
不好意思，請問廁所在哪裡？
Excuse me, where is the restroom?
Words in this phrase
不好意思
bù hǎo yì sī
[boo how ee suh]
excuse me; embarrassed; sorry
A very common Taiwanese phrase used to say 'excuse me', 'sorry', or 'I feel embarrassed/trouble you'. Softer than 對不起 in many daily situations.
不好意思，請問捷運站在哪裡？
Excuse me, may I ask where the MRT station is?
我遲到了。
wǒ chí dào le
I'm late.
我 (wǒ) means 'I', 遲到 (chídào) means 'to be late', and 了 (le) shows that it has already happened.
今天我遲到了。
I was late today.
Words in this phrase
我
wǒ
[Wǒ]
I
Refers to oneself.
我是學生。
I am a student.
遲到
chí dào
[chídào]
to be late
Verb meaning to arrive after the expected time.
他上課常常遲到。
He is often late for class.
了
le
[luh]
completed-action particle
Shows that an action has happened or a change of situation has occurred.
司機好像繞了。
It seems the driver took a detour.
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