City University of Hong Kong CLASS CLASS
Making Sense of Grammar
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asked Nov 2, 2020 in Questions about Chinese Grammar by Mickey (7,360 points) | 571 views

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迟(chí)到(dào)means ‘being late’ and is used when a person is not punctual, for example,

对不起,我迟到了

duìbuqǐ,   wǒ   chí dào         le

Sorry            I     be late   aspect marker

‘Sorry, I am late.’

晚(wǎn) means ‘late’ and it can also means ‘being late’, but can also be used in a broader circumstance. For example,

对不起,我来晚了

duìbuqǐ,  wǒ       láiwǎn            le

Sorry           I      come late    aspect marker

‘Sorry, I am late.’

太晚了,        我们     该        回家       了

tàiwǎnle, women   gāi      huíjiā       le

Too late     we   should   go home  aspect marker

‘It is too late, we should go home.’
answered Nov 2, 2020 by Mickey (7,360 points)

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1,614 questions
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207 comments
15,645 users