llegar tarde
/ʝeɡaɾ taɾde/from spelling rules
To say running late in Spanish, use llegar tarde.
llegar tarde means to arrive late. You use it in a conjugated form to say you will not be on time, as in Perdona, llego tarde. (Sorry, I am arriving late) or Lamentablemente, voy a llegar tarde. (Unfortunately, I'm going to be late).
What does it mean word for word?
llegar means to arrive and tarde means late, so the phrase is literally to arrive late.
Which one should you use?
llegar tarde focuses on the moment you arrive. To stress that you are behind schedule right now, while still on the way, speakers often say voy tarde. Another option is Oye, me estoy retrasando. (Hey, I'm running behind).
How does it change in a sentence?
llegar tarde is an infinitive. Conjugate llegar for the person, as in llego tarde for I arrive late or use voy a llegar tarde for I'm going to be late.
How do you pronounce it?
In IPA it is /ʝeɡaɾ taɾde/. The double l sounds close to the English y in yes.
Did you know?
- The verb llegar has its roots in ancient maritime history, originally meaning 'to reach the coast' or 'to land' in Latin.
- The word tarde is a linguistic chameleon that can mean 'late' in a general sense, but it is also the specific word used for 'afternoon' or 'evening'.
- In many Spanish-speaking contexts, the concept of 'llegar tarde' is culturally more flexible than in English, where being 'on time' is often strictly observed.
Examples in context
- Lo siento, voy tarde.I'm sorry, I'm running late.
- Siento mucho llegar tarde a la reunión.I am very sorry for arriving late to the meeting.
- ¿Vas a llegar tarde a la cena?Are you going to be running late for dinner?
- No quiero llegar tarde a la clase.I don't want to arrive late to the class.
Example conversation
María and Alejandro are meeting for lunch.
- MaríaPerdón, voy a llegar tarde.Sorry, I'm running late.
- AlejandroNo te preocupes, María.Don't worry, María.
- MaríaLlegaré tarde por el tráfico.I'll be running late because of traffic.
- AlejandroEstá bien, te espero aquí.That's fine, I'll wait for you here.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries llegar, tarde, CC BY-SA 4.0.
