slow, late, back, later

About this kanji

The kanji 遅, pronounced as 'chi' in on'yomi and 'okureru' or 'osoi' in kun'yomi, means slow or late. It is often used both as a noun and an adjective. You might come across compounds like 遅れ (okure), which means delay, and 遅い (osoi), meaning slow. Another example is 遅刻 (chikoku), which refers to being late. A helpful note is that when talking about being late to an appointment, 遅刻 is the term you'll want to use, while 遅い can describe someone or something that is slow in movement or action. Understanding this kanji will enhance your ability to express timing and speed!

Example sentences

• 彼は遅れて会議に到着した。

  He arrived late to the meeting.

Meanings across languages

English

slow, late, back, later

Tiếng Việt

chậm, muộn, trở lại, sau đó

日本語

遅い, 遅れる, 遅れて, 後に

한국어

느린, 늦은, 뒤로, 나중에

中文

慢, 晚, 返回, 稍后

id

lambat, terlambat, tertinggal

th

ช้า, สาย, กลับ, ทีหลัง

es

lento, tarde, rezagado, más tarde

fr

lent, tard, en retard, plus tard

de

langsam, spät, rückständig, später

pt

lento, tarde, atrasado, mais tarde

Common compounds

• 遅れおくれdelay, lag, falling behind
• 遅いおそいslow, late, too late
• 遅延ちえんdelay, latency
• 遅刻ちこくlateness, tardiness, arriving late
• 遅々ちちslow, lagging, tardy
• 手遅れておくれbeing too late, losing one's final chance
• 遅らすおくらすto delay, to postpone, to slow down
• 遅れるおくれるto be late, to be delayed, to fall behind schedule