to be late
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to be late
To arrive at a place or begin something later than the agreed or expected time.
Entschuldigung, der Zug hatte eine technische Störung, deshalb habe ich mich verspätet.
Sorry, the train had a technical fault, so I was late.
'Verspäten' (to be late) is a reflexive verb and is always used with a reflexive pronoun in the accusative: 'sich verspäten' (to be late). The pronoun must always be included.
Ich habe mich heute Morgen um zehn Minuten verspätet.
I was ten minutes late this morning.
The verb 'sich verspäten' (to be late) belongs to the word family of 'spät' (late, adjective) and 'die Verspätung' (delay, noun). The prefix 'ver-' turns the state of 'spät sein' (being late) into an event.
Wegen der Verspätung des Busses habe ich mich verspätet.
Because of the bus's delay, I was late.
To indicate the length of a delay, you use the preposition 'um' with the accusative. The reason is often expressed with 'wegen' (because of) or a 'weil' clause.
Der Flug hat sich um eine Stunde verspätet.
The flight was delayed by one hour.
Not only people can be late; means of transport or events can be delayed too. In this case, the means of transport is the subject of the sentence.
Die Lieferung wird sich voraussichtlich um zwei Tage verspäten.
The delivery is expected to be delayed by two days.
to delay
Verzögern and verspäten can both express that something happens later than expected. Sich verspäten refers especially to a person, a means of transport, or the beginning itself, whereas sich verzögern can also describe the course of or occurrence of a process. For an arrival, verspäten often sounds more natural.
Wegen des starken Regens verspätete sich der Zug.
The train was late because of the heavy rain.
Wegen des starken Regens verzögerte sich die Ankunft des Zuges.
The train's arrival was delayed because of the heavy rain.
