How do you say "late" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "late" is 遅れた (Okureta). It is a adjective.

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

遅れた is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as Okureta, it sounds roughly like "oh-koo-reh-tah" to an English ear.

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Questions about 遅れた

How do you pronounce 遅れた?

遅れた is romanised as Okureta. Say it roughly like "oh-koo-reh-tah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 遅れた formal or casual?

遅れた is a na-adjective or noun-adjective. It is neutral in register and fits naturally in both casual and polite sentences. Add na before a noun, or use desu for a polite predicate.

How is 遅れた written in Japanese?

遅れた is written using kanji and hiragana. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.