How to Say “Sorry, I am running late” in Chinese
Getting around · HSK 3
"Sorry, I am running late" in Chinese is 不好意思，我要迟到了。 (Bù hǎo yì si, wǒ yào chí dào le.). 要…了 ('about to…') is the key grammar here; 我要迟到了 means 'I'm about to be late', not that you already are. For work or anything with a boss, 抱歉 (bào qiàn) is more professional; 不好意思 is what you'd text a friend.
Primary translation
不好意思，我要迟到了。
Bù hǎo yì si, wǒ yào chí dào le.
Traditional: 不好意思，我要遲到了。
Variants by register
Formal
抱歉，我可能会晚一点到。
Bào qiàn, wǒ kě néng huì wǎn yì diǎn dào.
Casual
我可能要晚点儿，抱歉哈。
Wǒ kě néng yào wǎn diǎnr, bào qiàn hā.
When to use it
要…了 ('about to…') is the key grammar here; 我要迟到了 means 'I'm about to be late', not that you already are. For work or anything with a boss, 抱歉 (bào qiàn) is more professional; 不好意思 is what you'd text a friend. Chinese culture takes punctuality seriously for business meetings but social dinners are looser; a 10-minute lag is normal. Ending a casual apology with 哈 softens it, like a verbal shrug.
Example sentences
堵车堵得厉害，我要迟到了。
Dǔ chē dǔ de lì hai, wǒ yào chí dào le.
Traffic is terrible, I'm going to be late.
抱歉，我晚十分钟到。
Bào qiàn, wǒ wǎn shí fēn zhōng dào.
Sorry, I'll be ten minutes late.
你们先开始吧，我马上到。
Nǐ men xiān kāi shǐ ba, wǒ mǎ shàng dào.
You all start first, I'll be right there.