<p>The break down:</p>

<ul>
<li>「來」(come ) </li>
<li><p>「及」implies 「及時」 (in time) here.</p></li>
<li><p>「得」or 「不」 are the two potential particles that indicate " "able , or "unable" </p>

<p>*You either <strong>able</strong> or <strong>unable to</strong> come in time.  That's why they are called potential particles.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>In summary:</p>

<p>「來」 (come) 「不」(unable to) 「及」 (in time ) </p>

<p>「來不及」= unable to come in time = too late</p>

<p>「來不及愛你」= unable to come to love you in time = too late to love you.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-22T10:15:34.530Z
2016-08-22T10:15:34.530Z
Tang Ho
<p>A simple way to distinguish the two of the phrase:</p>

<p>You use either <strong>来不及做某事</strong> or <strong>做某事太迟了</strong> when you wanna say <strong>too late to do something</strong>
If you want to use 太迟， put the object ahead of 太迟. 太迟爱你 is not even correct in grammar.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-24T08:48:21.113Z
2016-08-24T08:48:21.113Z
Cassie
<p>why the phrase <strong>来不及</strong> is translated into <strong>too late</strong>?
why not use 太迟？ <strong>太迟爱你</strong>.
what is the different between them?</p>

<p>and why does <strong>来不及</strong> mean <strong>too late</strong> in the first place? </p>

<ul>
<li>来=come </li>
<li>不=no </li>
<li>及=？？</li>
</ul>

<p>Makes little sense to me. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-23T14:07:19.117Z
If you translate sentence S in language A to B then back to A, you can't expect to get back exactly S. You can of course use 太迟 if you start with English, eg 爱你已太迟
jf328
<meaning><expressions><phrase><equivalent-phrase>
来不及爱你 Too late to love you
# 来不及爱你 Too late to love you

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-08-22)

why the phrase **来不及** is translated into **too late**?
why not use 太迟？ **太迟爱你**.
what is the different between them?

and why does **来不及** mean **too late** in the first place?

* 来=come
* 不=no
* 及=？？

Makes little sense to me.

**Tags:** meaning, expressions, phrase, equivalent-phrase

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If you translate sentence S in language A to B then back to A, you can't expect to get back exactly S. You can of course use 太迟 if you start with English, eg 爱你已太迟  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-08-22. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

The break down:

* 「來」(come )
* 「及」implies 「及時」 (in time) here.
* 「得」or 「不」 are the two potential particles that indicate " "able , or "unable"

  \*You either **able** or **unable to** come in time. That's why they are called potential particles.

In summary:

「來」 (come) 「不」(unable to) 「及」 (in time )

「來不及」= unable to come in time = too late

「來不及愛你」= unable to come to love you in time = too late to love you.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2016-08-24. Score: 1

A simple way to distinguish the two of the phrase:

You use either **来不及做某事** or **做某事太迟了** when you wanna say **too late to do something**
If you want to use 太迟， put the object ahead of 太迟. 太迟爱你 is not even correct in grammar.


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