 |
|
| Share / Tweet / Pin Me! | |
Essential French Expression
| Meaning | late | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[a(n) reu tar] |
| IPA | [ã ʁə taʁ] | |
Usage notes: Though the English words "retard" and "retarded" have unfortunately taken on pejorative meanings, in French, retard is a perfectly acceptable noun meaning "delay."
Par exemple…
| des retards successifs | a series of delays | |
| sans retard | without delay | |
| Il a un retard en français. | He’s behind on his French. |
The adverbial French expression en retard, meaning delayed, late, behind, or overdue, can only be used with a verb like être or arriver.*
Par exemple…
| On va être en retard ! | We’re going to be late! | |
| Il est toujours en retard à l’école. | He’s always late to school. | |
| Tu es arrivé en retard hier. | You arrived late yesterday. |
En retard can describe a person or entity as under-developed or behind.
Par exemple…
| Il est en retard pour son âge. | He’s behind for his age. | |
| C’est un pays en retard. | It’s an under-developed country. |
Antonym: en avance – early, ahead of schedule
Expressions with retard
- avoir du retard – to be (running) late/slow, to be overdue
- avoir du retard à l’allumage (informal) – to be a bit slow on the uptake
- avoir (cinq minutes, deux jours…) de retard – to be (five minutes, two days…) late
- être en retard pour son âge – to be backward for one’s age
- être en retard sur l’horaire / le programme – to be behind schedule
- être en retard sur son siècle / temps – to be behind the times
- mettre (quelqu’un) en retard – to make (someone) late
- (le travail / les tâches) en retard – backlog (of work / tasks)
* The adjective "late" is equivalent to tardif in French.
Par exemple…
| un dîner tardif | a late dinner | |
| une heure tardive | a late hour |
French verb conjugations
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
This free website is created with love and a great deal of work. If you love it, please consider making a 
Practice is the key to improving your French, and just 15 minutes a day on some kind of French activity can make a huge difference. Check out these ideas and draw up your own schedule.
Of the four language skills, many people find that speaking is the most difficult. Here are tips and resources to help you overcome these obstacles in order to practice French as much as you like.
Jouer is a regular -er French verb that can be a bit confusing when it comes time to decide which preposition should follow. Here’s everything you need to know.