遅い
おそい
slow; (to be) late
i-adjective
Conjugation Table
Present
遅い
Negative
遅くない
Past
遅かった
Past Negative
遅くなかった
Te Form
遅くて
Adverbial
遅く
Conditional
遅ければ
Presumptive
遅いでしょう
Example Sentences
電車が遅いです。
The train is slow.
Densha ga osoi desu.
昨日のバスは遅かったです。
Yesterday's bus was late.
Kinou no basu wa osokatta desu.
彼は遅くないです。
He is not slow.
Kare wa osokunai desu.
Grammar Notes & Usage Tips
•Conjugation Clarity**: As an i-adjective, 遅い (おそい) follows regular i-adjective conjugation rules, so to make it negative, simply replace the い with くない, forming 遅くない (おそくない) to mean "not slow" or "not late."
•Particle Pairing**: When describing a noun, use 遅い directly before it, as in 遅い電車 (おそいでんしゃ), meaning "slow train." If you're using it with a verb to describe how something is done, use the adverb form, 遅く (おそく), like in 遅く来る (おそくくる), meaning "to come late."
•Time Sensitivity**: 遅い can describe both slowness and lateness, so context is crucial. If you're talking about a person being tardy, you might say 彼は遅い (かれはおそい), meaning "He is late," while 遅いスピード (おそいスピード) is used to talk about "slow speed."
•Common Mistake Alert**: Avoid using 遅い to describe someone sleeping in; instead, use 遅くまで寝る (おそくまでねる), meaning "to sleep late," since 遅い doesn't convey oversleeping in Japanese.
•い-adjective: Conjugates by changing the い ending