How to Say "Late" in Vietnamese

muộn

[muən˧˨ʔ]

The Vietnamese word for late is muộn.

muộn is an adjective used to describe someone or something that does not arrive until after an expected or scheduled time.

Meaning: not arriving until after an expected time (adj)

Which one should you use?

While muộn and trễ both mean 'late', trễ is more common in informal speech and Southern Vietnamese dialects.

The word trễ is more frequently encountered in Southern Vietnamese dialects.

In Vietnamese, you often pair muộn with a verb like đi (to go) or đến (to arrive) to express the action of being late.

The word muộn is used in the phrase muộn màng, which describes a feeling or a realization that comes too late to be useful, often in romantic poetry.
The word muộn shares its linguistic roots with the Chinese character 晚, which is also used to mean 'evening' or 'night' in many East Asian contexts.
In Vietnamese, you can describe a person as 'late' using muộn, but to say someone passed away 'too early' (the opposite of late in life), the language uses a different logic than English.

Cô ấy đến muộn.
She's coming late.
This sentence illustrates how to use muộn to describe someone's arrival.
Tatoeba #13508460 by leucammieuvu, translation #13507084 by rul
Muộn còn hơn không.
Better late than never.
This sentence provides a common proverb using muộn.
Tatoeba #8990753 by dotheduyet1999, translation #2344 by CK
Không ai đến muộn cả.
Nobody arrived late.
This sentence shows how to use muộn in a negative sentence about arrivals.
Tatoeba #13340176 by leucammieuvu, translation #9314863 by CK
Tôi xin lỗi vì đã đến trễ.
I apologize for being late.
46 more sentences on Tatoeba

Minh and Lan are meeting for coffee.

Sources

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