晚点

• Pinyin: wǎn diǎn
• Hanzi breakdown: 晚 = 日(sun) + 免 (rabbit, phonetic); 点 = 火(fire) + 占 (phonetic, simplified from 點)

Meaning

(Of transport) delayed; running behind schedule.

Primarily used for trains, planes, and buses that arrive or depart later than their scheduled time. 晚点 is the standard term used in Chinese station and airport announcements. The opposite is 准时 (zhǔnshí, on time) or 提前到达 (arrived early). 晚点几分钟 means delayed by a few minutes.

Examples

1. 由于强风天气，今天的航班晚点了将近两个小时。 Due to strong winds, today's flight was delayed by nearly two hours.
2. 火车晚点了，旅客们只好在候车室里耐心等待。 The train was delayed, so passengers had to wait patiently in the waiting room.
3. 这条线路的列车经常晚点，很多通勤旅客感到不满。 Trains on this line are frequently delayed, and many commuters are unhappy about it.

Usage Guide

Context: travel, transport

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 今天的高铁晚点了二十分钟。(Today's high-speed train is twenty minutes delayed.)
• 请注意，XX次列车晚点，具体到达时间请关注广播。(Please note that train No. XX is delayed — listen to announcements for the updated arrival time.)

Don't Say

• 晚点 ≠ 迟到 — 晚点 is used specifically for transport delays; 迟到 (chídào) means a person is late for an appointment or obligation. Don't use them interchangeably.

Origin & History

Compound of 晚 (late/evening, from 日 sun + 免 rabbit phonetic) and 点 (point/dot, used here in the sense of 'time point'), together meaning 'arriving at a later time point than scheduled.'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal