llegas tarde
/ʝeɡas taɾde/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "you're late" is expressed as llegas tarde.
This phrase is used to state that someone has arrived after the expected or scheduled time. While English uses the verb "to be" to express lateness, Spanish uses the verb "to arrive."
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of the second-person singular form of the verb llegar (to arrive) and the adverb tarde (late).
Which one should you use?
In English, you say "you are late," but in Spanish, you literally say "you arrive late."
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase changes depending on whom you are addressing.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʝeɡas taɾde/
Did you know?
- If you want to say someone is 'constantly late', you might use the phrase llegas siempre tarde, but in some dialects, people use the word retrasado to imply a person is delayed, though this carries a very different and much more offensive connotation in modern slang.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, the concept of 'punctuality' is more flexible than in English-speaking countries. Telling someone llegas tarde might feel like a harsh accusation in a social setting where arriving thirty minutes after the scheduled time is actually considered being 'on time'.
- The word tarde is a double agent that can mean both 'late' and 'afternoon'. Because of this, if you ask someone '¿Qué haces esta tarde?', you are asking what they are doing this afternoon, not what they are doing late.
Examples in context
- Llegas tarde a la fiesta.You're late to the party.This example shows how to use llegas tarde to say someone is late to a party.Tatoeba #1699322 by marcelostockle, translation #1699262 by Spamster
- Te perderás el examen si llegas tarde.You'll miss the exam if you're late.This sentence demonstrates using llegas tarde in a conditional statement about missing an exam.Tatoeba #6597174 by arh, translation #9855486 by DJ_Saidez
- «Llegas tarde de nuevo, Tom.» «Lo siento, es que me he dormido.» «Bueno, no pasa nada. Me alegra que por lo menos hayas venido.»"You're late again, Tom." "Sorry. I slept in." "It's fine. At least you came, and I'm happy for that."This dialogue shows a conversation where someone uses llegas tarde to point out a repeated occurrence.Tatoeba #10018516 by Shishir, translation #10018518 by DJ_Saidez
- Llegas tarde, compadre.You arrive late, buddy
Example conversation
Daniel is waiting for Sofía at a café.
- DanielSofía, llegas tarde.Sofía, you're late.
- SofíaLo siento, Daniel, había mucho tráfico.I'm sorry, Daniel, there was a lot of traffic.
- DanielNo te preocupes, ya pedí el café.Don't worry, I already ordered the coffee.
- SofíaGracias, eres muy amable.Thanks, you're very kind.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
