Essere in ritardo (to be late)

Common Italian collocation

Pronunciation
Literal translation	To be in delay
English translation	To be late
You do NOT say	Essere tardi

Late as an adjective is an adverb in Italian and it is translated as tardi. You can translate “to be late” as fare tardi as well, especially when it’s used with a past tense (“you were late and you arrived late”).

Examples

Ho perso l’autobus e ora sono in ritardo.	I missed the bus, and now I’m late.
A volte i treni possono essere in ritardo.	Trains can be late sometimes.
Siamo in ritardo per la lezione.	We are late for the lesson.
Non voglio fare tardi all’appuntamento.	I don’t want to be late for the appointment.
Oggi ho fatto tardi al lavoro.	I was late for work today.

Related lessons

• essere (to be)
• ritardo (delay)
• prepositions

---

More free Italian resources

❤️ If you liked this Lingookie on how to say to be late in Italian, share it with your friends!