Sorry for being late in Spanish
A quarrel and making up in Spanish. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Llevo una hora esperando. Estoy enfadado, la verdad.» — I've been waiting for an hour. Honestly, I'm angry.; «Perdón por el retraso. Perdí el tren y no tenía batería.» — Sorry for being late. I missed the train and my phone died. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a quarrel and making up. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Llevo una hora esperando. Estoy enfadado, la verdad.I've been waiting for an hour. Honestly, I'm angry.
- Perdón por el retraso. Perdí el tren y no tenía batería.Sorry for being late. I missed the train and my phone died.
- Podías avisar. Me he preocupado.You could have warned me. I was worried.
- Tienes razón, es culpa mía. No quería dejarte solo.You're right, it's my fault. I didn't want to leave you alone.
- No pasa nada. Pero la próxima vez me llamas, ¿vale?It's okay. But next time call me, okay?
- Te lo prometo. ¿Nos tomamos algo y lo olvidamos?I promise. Shall we have a drink and forget about it?
- Venga, te invito yo. Y ya no discutimos más.Fine, it's on me. And let's not argue anymore.
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Llevo una hora esperando. Estoy enfadado, la verdad. | — | I've been waiting for an hour. Honestly, I'm angry. |
| Perdón por el retraso. Perdí el tren y no tenía batería. | — | Sorry for being late. I missed the train and my phone died. |
| Podías avisar. Me he preocupado. | — | You could have warned me. I was worried. |
| Tienes razón, es culpa mía. No quería dejarte solo. | — | You're right, it's my fault. I didn't want to leave you alone. |
| No pasa nada. Pero la próxima vez me llamas, ¿vale? | — | It's okay. But next time call me, okay? |
| Te lo prometo. ¿Nos tomamos algo y lo olvidamos? | — | I promise. Shall we have a drink and forget about it? |
| Venga, te invito yo. Y ya no discutimos más. | — | Fine, it's on me. And let's not argue anymore. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Spanish in this situation?
“Llevo una hora esperando. Estoy enfadado, la verdad.” — I've been waiting for an hour. Honestly, I'm angry.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.