Dictionary / French / I'm late
How to Say "I'm late" in French
Je suis en retard
/ʒə sɥi ɑ̃ ʁətaʁ/
Literally: I am in delay
Je
I
suis
am
en
in
retard
delay
Good to know
To say how late you are, switch to avoir: j'ai dix minutes de retard. The opposite is en avance, early. To apologise, désolé(e), je suis en retard is enough.
Correct
Je suis en retard
What people say wrong
Je suis tard
Not correct French; tard describes the time, not a person
The mistake to avoid. Tard and en retard both translate as late, but they do different jobs. Tard is about the time itself: il est tard (it's late), je me couche tard (I go to bed late). En retard means behind schedule, late for something. So je suis tard is not French. If someone is waiting for you, you are en retard.
In context
Désolée, je suis en retard, il y avait des bouchons.
Sorry I'm late, there was traffic.
Le train a vingt minutes de retard.
The train is twenty minutes late.
Il est tard, je rentre.
It's late, I'm heading home.