Japanese Word of the Day
遅れる
/o-ku-RE-ru/ • verb (intransitive, ru-verb) — 8th of Apr, 2026
Listen to pronunciation
Meaning: to be late; to be delayed
Examples
- 電車が事故で遅れました。
(The train was delayed because of an accident.) - 会議に遅れないようにしてください。
(Please make sure not to be late for the meeting.) - 彼は約束の時間にいつも遅れる。
(He is always late for the appointment.)
Synonyms
- 遅刻する
- 遅い
遅れる is used when someone or something arrives late or is delayed (people, trains, flights, etc.). It's intransitive — you say X が遅れる. For being late to an appointment you can also use 遅刻する (to be late, often for schedules or classes). The transitive counterpart (to make something late) is 遅らせる. Common polite form: 遅れます / 遅れました.
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