Chinese phrase
抱歉我迟到了 bào qiàn wǒ chí dào le
Meaning
I'm sorry I'm late
When to use it
This is a polite apology for being late. It is often said on arrival at a meeting or other planned event.
Example dialogue
抱歉我迟到了，会议开始了吗？ bào qiàn wǒ chí dào le huì yì kāi shǐ le ma
I'm sorry I'm late. Has the meeting started?
还没开始，请坐。 hái méi kāi shǐ qǐng zuò
It hasn't started yet. Please sit down.