迟到chí dàoto arrive late
迟到 (chí dào) means "to arrive late." It is used for being late to class, work, a meeting, or any planned time, as in 我迟到了 (I am late) and 别迟到 (don't be late). It is a verb and does not take an object directly; the event comes before it.
What does 迟到 mean?
- 1.
to arrive lateverb
What do the characters in 迟到 mean?
- 迟late
- 到to reach; to arrive
How do you use 迟到?
迟到 often takes 了 for a lateness that has happened, and 别 or 不要 for a warning.
Patterns
别 + 迟到
上班别迟到。
Shàngbān bié chídào.
Don't be late for work.
What are some examples of 迟到 in a sentence?
How is 迟到 used in a conversation?
- Speaker A:
你怎么又迟到了？
Nǐ zěnme yòu chídào le?
Why are you late again?
- Speaker B:
路上车太多了。
Lù shang chē tài duō le.
There was too much traffic on the road.
- Speaker A:
下次早点儿出门吧。
Xià cì zǎo diǎnr chūmén ba.
Leave home a bit earlier next time.
- Speaker B:
好，我明天六点就起床。
Hǎo, wǒ míngtiān liù diǎn jiù qǐchuáng.
OK, I'll get up at six tomorrow.
What should you learn next?
- Free HSK 3 level testSee which HSK 3.0 level your vocabulary matches.
- HSK 3 word listEvery word at this level, with examples.
- HSK 3.0 guideHow the nine levels and three bands work.
Related words
- 受到shòu dàoto receive (praise, an education, punishment etc); to be ...ed (praised, educated, punished etc)HSK 3
- 得到dé dàoto get; to obtain; to receiveHSK 3
- 感到gǎn dàoto feel; to sense; to perceiveHSK 3
- 收到shōu dàoto receiveHSK 3
- 遇到yù dàoto meet; to run into; to come acrossHSK 3
- 到处dào chùeverywhereHSK 3
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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.