音読み: チ
訓読み: おくれる・おそい
画数: 12
部首: 辶（しんにょう）
Meaning
Slow / Late
- 遅れる — to be late; to fall behind
- 遅い — slow; late
- 遅刻 — being late (for an appointment/class)
- 遅延 — delay (trains, flights, systems)
- 遅配 — delayed distribution
- 後れを取る — to fall behind the pack
The radical 辶（しんにょう） signals movement or a path. With a component suggesting “late/slow,” the whole character paints the idea of moving but not keeping pace—hence “slow, late.”
Put 遅 next to 速 in your mind: one strolls along the road, the other darts ahead. Remember the road radical 辶—when the pace lags on that road, you get the feeling of 遅.
遅刻 — being late; tardiness