The Meaning of osoi [遅い] In Japanese
遅い
おそい
Romaji: osoi
N5
What does 遅い mean?
Translation and Meaning
late, slow, tardy
Definition
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.
Type
adjective (i-adjective)
Stroke Order
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.
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.
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.
Usage
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.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: the 辶 movement radical on 遅 evokes motion toward a deadline; picture someone walking slowly to a late train to recall the meaning.
Variations
- sluggish, slow — noroi
- fast — hayai
- adverbial form slowly — osoku
- to be late (verb) — okureru
Example Phrases
-
電車が遅いので、会議に遅刻した。Densha ga osoi node, kaigi ni chikokushita.The train was late, so I was late for the meeting.Lista:
- 電車 (densha) – train
- が (ga) – subject marker
- 遅い (osoi) – late
- ので (node) – because/so
- 会議 (kaigi) – meeting
- に (ni) – to
- 遅刻した (chikokushita) – was late
In this context, 「遅い」 describes the lateness of the train and is connected by ので to express cause.
