Meaning
late
In a sentence
Oggi arrivo tardi perché c'è molto traffico.
Today I'm arriving late because there's a lot of traffic.
Sei tornato tardi ieri sera?
Did you get back late last night?
Non è mai troppo tardi per iniziare.
It's never too late to start.
Usage notes
- Use 'tardi' for clock time (e.g., 'È tardi'). Use 'in ritardo' for being late to an event.
- Avoid 'tardi' with 'essere' for people (e.g., 'Sono tardi' is wrong; say 'Sono in ritardo').
- Common in informal speech; no major regional differences.