Perdón por llegar tarde
/peɾdon poɾ ʝeɡaɾ taɾde/from spelling rules
The English phrase "sorry I am late" is translated into Spanish as Perdón por llegar tarde.
You can also express this sentiment using the phrase Siento llegar tarde, which uses the verb sentir to mean "I feel/regret arriving late".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "Pardon for arriving late" because llegar is the infinitive verb "to arrive".
Which one should you use?
While Perdón por llegar tarde focuses on the action of the speaker arriving, the phrase Disculpa la demora focuses on the delay itself.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For professional or business settings, you may use the more formal Disculpe la tardanza, which means "Excuse the delay". Additionally, Perdón por el retraso is a slightly more formal way to say "Sorry for the delay" by using retraso (delay) instead of llegar tarde (arriving late).
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, after the preposition por, you must use the infinitive form of the verb llegar rather than a conjugated form like llego.
How do you pronounce it?
/peɾdon poɾ ʝeɡaɾ taɾde/
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, being slightly 'tarde' is often socially acceptable, and a rigid adherence to punctuality can sometimes be seen as overly formal or even aggressive.
- The verb llegar comes from the Latin word applicāre, which meant 'to land' or 'to reach the coast'. This reflects the ancient and powerful naval tradition of the Iberian peninsula.
- The word tarde is a linguistic chameleon that can mean both 'late' and 'the evening' depending on the context.
Examples in context
- Disculpe mi retraso.Excuse my delay.
- Perdón por la tardanza.Sorry for the lateness.
- Lamento llegar tarde.I apologize for arriving late.
- Disculpa por la tardanza.Apologies for the lateness.
- Perdón por la demora.Sorry for the delay.
- Perdone por el retrasoPardon the delay.
- Disculpe el retrasoExcuse the delay.
- Perdón por llegar tarde, el tráfico estaba horrible.Sorry I am late, the traffic was horrible.
- Perdón por llegar tarde a la reunión.Sorry I am late to the meeting.
- Te pido perdón por llegar tarde hoy.I apologize to you for being late today.
Example conversation
Sofia arrives at a coffee shop to meet Alejandro.
- SofíaHola Alejandro, perdón por llegar tarde.Hi Alejandro, sorry I am late.
- AlejandroNo te preocupes, acabo de llegar yo también.Don't worry, I just arrived too.
- SofíaQué alivio, ¿ya pediste algo?What a relief, did you already order something?
- AlejandroNo, esperé a que llegaras.No, I waited for you to arrive.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries llegar, perdón, por, tarde, CC BY-SA 4.0.
