1.
somewhat late; on the late side; a bit slow
Formed from 遅い plus the suffix め. Indicates being later or slower than average, but not extremely so — 'a bit late.'
今日は遅めに起きた。
Today I got up a bit late.
夕食は遅めの時間に食べる。
We eat dinner at a somewhat late hour.
電車が混むので、少し遅めに家を出ることにした。
Since the trains get crowded, I decided to leave home a little on the late side.
The suffix め attaches to an adjective stem to mean 'somewhat ~' or 'on the ~ side.' 遅い (late) → 遅め.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 遅めに出る: to leave a bit late
- 遅めの時間: a somewhat late hour
- 遅めの昼食: a late lunch
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 早め: somewhat early — the antonym, formed the same way
- 遅い: late; slow — the plain adjective, without the softening め