遅(おそ)め

おそめ
na-adjective
somewhat late; on the late side
time-general
1. somewhat late; on the late side; a bit slow
Formed from 遅(おそ)い plus the suffix め. Indicates being later or slower than average, but not extremely so — 'a bit late.'
今日(きょう)は遅(おそ)めに起(お)きた。
Today I got up a bit late.
夕食(ゆうしょく)は遅(おそ)めの時間(じかん)に食(た)べる。
We eat dinner at a somewhat late hour.
電車(でんしゃ)が混(こ)むので、少(すこ)し遅(おそ)めに家(いえ)を出(で)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(おそ)い (late) → 遅(おそ)め.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 早(はや)め: somewhat early — the antonym, formed the same way
  • 遅(おそ)い: late; slow — the plain adjective, without the softening め

Related Words

Antonym: 早(はや)め (somewhat early)
Compare: 遅(おそ)い (late)
general
Added 2026.5.24 11:02 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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