Telling a colleague you will be late in Japanese

Send a message the other person can act on

Imagine you have a meeting at ten and your train is delayed. Your colleague needs to know whether to wait or begin another task. Send a short message when you can give a useful estimate. For this fictional situation, try: すみません。電車が遅れています。15分くらい遅れます。 It means: I am sorry. The train is delayed. I will be about fifteen minutes late. The speaker explains the situation and gives an approximate delay.

すみません is an apology here. Put it at the start so the person immediately understands why you are contacting them. Then give the reason in a separate sentence if that is easier. 電車が遅れています describes the train as delayed in this example. Learn it as a useful whole sentence for this situation; you do not need a general rule about every use of ています to send this message.

15分くらい遅れます gives the amount of lateness. くらい means about after the duration, so keep that uncertainty in your translation. Ten o'clock plus about fifteen minutes suggests arrival around ten fifteen. A duration and a clock time answer different questions. If you supply a clock time, check that it agrees with your estimate and say whether you mean morning or afternoon when the context is unclear.

This lesson practises a short message to a colleague, not every workplace reporting procedure. Use the contact method and recipient appropriate to your own workplace. Irodori's Elementary 1 Lesson 14 practises calling work about lateness and apologising. The situations and messages here are original practice material. They describe no real disruption or personal experience.

Learn the words you need in the message

遅れます (おくれます, okuremasu) means will be late in this message. 電車 (でんしゃ, densha) means train. Compare the person and the train: 10分遅れます means I will be ten minutes late in our situation, while 電車が遅れています means the train is delayed. The first sentence leaves the speaker unstated because the message already makes that clear. Keep track of who or what is delayed when translating.

遅延 (ちえん, chien) is the noun delay. 十五分 (じゅうごふん, jūgofun) means fifteen minutes, also written 15分. Say the number and its counter together. Ten minutes is 10分, read じゅっぷん (juppun), so changing the number can change the sound of 分. Practise 10分遅れます and 15分くらい遅れます separately, keeping the second estimate approximate. A delay notice alone does not tell you your own arrival time.

大丈夫 (だいじょうぶ, daijōbu) means okay or all right. 大丈夫ですか asks whether something is okay; name the time when you need to be specific. 連絡します (れんらくします, renraku shimasu) means I will contact you or let you know. For example, あとで連絡します means I will contact you later. This promises another contact, without supplying a particular arrival time.

お願いします (おねがいします, onegai shimasu) is a polite request expression whose English wording depends on the request. In our dialogue, よろしくお願いします is a closing that acknowledges the colleague's cooperation; thank you is a practical translation there. 確認します (かくにんします, kakunin shimasu) means I will check or confirm. 時間を確認します means I will check the time. Keep this separate from わかりました, which acknowledges that you understood.

Connect a reason and give a usable estimate

You can also connect the reason directly to the result. In this use, a noun followed by で gives the cause: 電車の遅延で、15分くらい遅れます。 The meaning is: Because of a train delay, I will be about fifteen minutes late. 電車の遅延 is the noun phrase train delay, and で connects that cause to the lateness. This is one use of で; the particle has other uses in other sentences.

With a verb, the te-form can give the reason in this pattern. Try: 道に迷って、10分くらい遅れます。 It means: I got lost and will be about ten minutes late. 迷って comes from 迷う, to lose one's way. The Japan Foundation's Irodori reason and cause explanation teaches noun + で and verb te-form for this function. These connected examples practise that function with a different estimate.

Choose the reason that matches your situation. If you know only that you will be late, すみません。10分くらい遅れます。 still supplies an apology and an estimate. Add a reason you can state accurately. Keep any later update consistent with the earlier message: あとで連絡します means you will contact the colleague later, so follow through if you use it.

To check a proposed time, say 午前10時15分で大丈夫ですか。 It means: Is ten fifteen in the morning okay? Here で belongs to a question checking whether the proposed time works; do not read it as the reason pattern above. The final か marks the question. Ask before treating a different meeting time as agreed. An estimate of your lateness by itself does not confirm a new meeting time.

Read a short exchange, then write your own

Read this fictional exchange aloud. A: すみません、電車が遅れています。15分くらい遅れます。 B: わかりました。大丈夫ですよ。 A: すみません、よろしくお願いします。 In English: A: I am sorry, the train is delayed. I will be about fifteen minutes late. B: Understood. That is fine. A: I am sorry, thank you. B's reply accepts this situation; it does not promise that every delay will be acceptable.

For a separate time check, try A: 午前10時15分で大丈夫ですか。 B: はい、大丈夫です。 The meaning is A: Is ten fifteen in the morning okay? B: Yes, that is fine. Compare this explicit answer with わかりました on its own. Understood confirms receipt or understanding; listen for what the colleague actually agrees to when checking a time.

Practice 1: You will be about ten minutes late because of a train delay. Write a short Japanese message with an apology, that reason and the approximate delay. Use the noun + で pattern. Before checking the answer, underline the cause and circle the duration. Make sure the number describes how late you will be.

Practice 2: You want to check whether ten fifteen in the morning is okay. Write the question and an affirmative reply. Then explain whether 15分くらい遅れます alone confirms a new meeting time. Answer both parts before reading the model, so you practise the language and the decision about what has actually been agreed.

Answers: 1. すみません。電車の遅延で、10分くらい遅れます。 This says: I am sorry. Because of a train delay, I will be about ten minutes late. 2. 午前10時15分で大丈夫ですか。 はい、大丈夫です。 This asks whether the proposed time is okay and answers yes. The delay estimate alone does not confirm a new meeting time. Check your numbers and keep about in your translation wherever you used くらい.