遅い
Meaning in Englishlate, slow
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
遅い means late or slow in Japanese. It is an い-adjective used to describe lateness in time or a slow rate of movement or processing, applicable to people, objects, or events.
Main meanings
- Time lateness: describes arriving after the expected time or deadline.
- Speed: describes a slow pace in movement or operation.
- Delay in response or processing: describes being slow to answer or complete a task.
- Negative evaluation of performance: used to express that something is not quick or efficient.
How to use it
Used as an i-adjective in both plain and polite speech; describes lateness or slowness; modifies nouns directly and also appears in predicate position; forms include 遅いです, 遅かった, 遅く, and 遅くない.
Variants and close terms
- sluggish, slow — noroi
- fast — hayai
- adverbial form slowly — osoku
- to be late (verb) — okureru
Composition
遅い is built from 遅 meaning late or delay, plus the i-adjective ending い, turning the root into a descriptive adjective that conveys lateness or slowness.
Etymology
oso-i is the kun'yomi form associated with 遅; the modern 遅い results from attaching the い adjective ending to the kanji's root, reflecting a phonetic evolution from classical Japanese.
Origin
Old Japanese usage appears in classical literature; the concept of lateness or slowness existed across periods, and 遅い consolidated in the modern language.
Word class
adjective (i-adjective)