Writing
迟到 (chídào) — how to say "to be late" in Chinese
迟到
To be late
verb
Character composition
迟
late
到
to arrive
Radicals / Keys
刀
Knife
#18 · dāo · 2 strokes
辵
Walk
#162 · chuò · 7 strokes
Synonyms
Collocations
上课迟到
shàngkè chídào
be late for class
迟到十分钟
chídào shí fēnzhōng
be ten minutes late
经常迟到
jīngcháng chídào
often be late
Examples
路上太堵了，他开会迟到了，还一直在道歉。
The traffic was so congested that he was late for the meeting and kept apologizing.
他今天迟到了。
He was late today.
Mnemonic
[chídào-] Cheddar the mouse 🐭 decides to have a race to the cheese factory but ends up 迟到! When he finally arrives, he sees a big sign with 迟 "LATE" written on it and hears the echoing "到" as the factory doors close. He learns the lesson to never underestimate the time he has left!
Frequently asked questions
How to say be late in Chinese?
"to be late" in Chinese is 迟到 (chídào).
迟到 meaning in English
迟到 (chídào) means "To be late".
How is 迟到 pronounced?
It is pronounced chídào (written as chidao). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "to be late" in Chinese characters?
It is written 迟到: 迟 has 7 strokes, 到 has 8 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 迟到?
迟到 belongs to the HSK 3 vocabulary list.
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Grammar with 迟到
又 — again in the past
又 (yòu) + Verb + 了 (le)
从来 — never in negative contexts
从来 (cónglái) + 都 (dōu)/也 (yě) + 不 (bù)/没 (méi) + Verb / Adj.
竟然 — unexpectedly
Subj. + 竟然 (jìngrán) + Verb / Adj.
再不 — last chance with “if not… then…”
Subj. + 再不 (zài bù) + Verb Phrase, 就 (jiù) + result
又 — again, repeated past action
Subj. + (Time) + 又 (yòu) + Verb + 了 (le)
以免 — in order to avoid
Clause 1, 以免 (yǐmiǎn) + Undesirable Result