How to say “be late” in Chinese
be late
“Be late” in Chinese is 迟到, chí dào: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
迟到 is read chí dào: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 辶 “walk”; inside, 尺 chǐ hints at the sound.
On the right, 刂 “knife”, dāo, hints at the sound.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “迟到”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 迟到. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 对不起我迟到了duìbuqǐ,wǒchídàoleSorry, I'm late.
- 你怎么总是迟到nǐzěnmezǒngshìchídàoWhy are you always late?
- 你怎么又迟到了？是不是故意的？nǐzěnmeyòuchídàole,shìbushìgùyìdeWhy are you late again? Was it on purpose?
- 我最讨厌迟到的人wǒzuìtǎoyànchídàoderénWhat I can't stand most is people who are late.
- 明天早上八点见，别迟到。míngtiānzǎoshangbādiǎnjiàn,biéchídàoSee you tomorrow at eight in the morning — don't be late.
- 我今天差点儿迟到。wǒjīntiānchàdiǎnrchídàoI was almost late today.
More words from the lesson “Vacations and absences”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “be late” in Chinese?
“Be late” in Chinese is 迟到, pinyin chídào.
What does 迟到 mean?
迟到 (chídào) means “be late”.
How do you write 迟到?
迟到 is 2 characters: 迟 (chí) — late; be late; 到 (dào) — arrive. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 迟到?
迟到 is read chídào. Tones: chí — second tone, dào — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“be late” in the lesson “Vacations and absences”
This word is from the topic “Studying” of HSK 3. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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