HSK Guide

迟到遲到 chídào — to be late, to arrive late

chídào (second tone, rising)chi2dao4

Traditional: 遲到

to be late, to arrive late

HSK 3· HSK 1–4 (classic)verb
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Meanings

  1. to be late, to arrive late

    To arrive later than the fixed time. It is a verb plus its own result, so it takes no object: you name the occasion first — 上课迟到, 开会迟到.

    verb

Character breakdown

  • 到
    dào (fourth tone, falling)

    to arrive, to reach, to get to; to go to; up to, until; (as a verb complement) successfully

    8 strokes⿰至刂Radical 刀

Example sentences

  • 对不起，我今天迟到了。對不起，我今天遲到了。Duìbuqǐ, (fourth tone, falling) wǒ (third tone, dipping) jīntiān (first tone, high and level) chídào (second tone, rising) le. (neutral tone)···

    Sorry, I’m late today.

  • 上课不要迟到，八点一定要到。上課不要遲到，八點一定要到。Shàngkè (fourth tone, falling) búyào (second tone, rising) chídào, (second tone, rising) bā (first tone, high and level) diǎn (third tone, dipping) yídìng (second tone, rising) yào (fourth tone, falling) dào. (fourth tone, falling)···

    Don’t be late for class — you must be there by eight.

Common mistakes

  • Not quite我迟到了课。

    Correct我上课迟到了。

    迟到 already carries its own result and cannot take an object. Put the occasion in front of it instead: 上课迟到, 上班迟到.

Similar words

Words containing 到