遅い

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 夜が遅い。▶ —
   It is late at night.
2. 電車が遅い。▶ —
   The train is slow.

Collocations

Mnemonic

おそい — 遅い, Yamato. An i-adjective. The opposite of 早い・速い hayai. The kanji 遅 = 辶 (movement) + 犀 (ox) ── a picture of 'moving slowly, like an ox'. One word holds what Korean keeps as two ── 'late (in time)' and 'slow (in speed)' ── 夜が遅い (it is late at night), 電車が遅い (the train is slow), 返事が遅い (the reply is late). The Japanese time-culture code '時間に厳しい' (strict about time) ── 遅刻 chikoku (lateness) is a core negative mark in social and business life. The 定刻運転 of the 新幹線 seen in hayai (on-time running, average delay 30 seconds) is the mirror of how warily society guards against 遅い. The 遅 kanji family ── 遅延 chien (delay), 遅咲き osozaki (a late-blooming flower = a late bloomer). The Korean reading ji is sister to the onyomi ち.

Quick check

1. Recommended arrival time for Japanese business meetings?

   • Five minutes early (the jikan ni kibishii code)
   • Exactly on time
   • Five minutes late
   • Fifteen minutes early