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How to Say “I think I’ll be a little late” in Korean

약속 시간에 좀 늦을 것 같아

yaksok sigane jom neujeul geot gata

Situation: Friends & social mediaLevel: Intermediate (TOPIK 3–4)

Meaning

I think I’ll be a little late. (casual)

-(으)ㄹ 것 같다 expresses a guess. It is what you say before you are actually late, as a heads-up. 늦다 takes -을 here, giving 늦을.

Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.

Syllables: 11 · Words: 6

In natural speech, sounds link and shift across words. The table below reads each word separately, as it sounds when said on its own.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
약속
약	ㅇ+ㅑ+ㄱ	yak
속	ㅅ+ㅗ+ㄱ	[쏙] sok
시간에
시	ㅅ+ㅣ	si
간	ㄱ+ㅏ+ㄴ	[가] ga
에	ㅇ+ㅔ	[네] ne
좀	ㅈ+ㅗ+ㅁ	jom
늦을
늦	ㄴ+ㅡ+ㅈ	[느] neu
을	ㅇ+ㅡ+ㄹ	[즐] jeul
것	ㄱ+ㅓ+ㅅ	[걷] geot
같아
같	ㄱ+ㅏ+ㅌ	[가] ga
아	ㅇ+ㅏ	[타] ta

A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.

Tensing: after a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ sound, ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ and ㅈ become tense (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ). 약속 → [약쏙]
Linking: when a syllable ending in a consonant (patchim) is followed by a syllable that starts with a vowel, the consonant moves over to the next syllable. 간에 → [가네]
Final-sound reduction: every final consonant is pronounced as one of seven sounds — ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ or ㅇ. 것 → [걷]