Unnskyld, jeg kommer for sent.

Sorry, I am late.

Breakdown of Unnskyld, jeg kommer for sent.

• jeg: I
• komme: to arrive
• for sent: too late
• unnskyld: sorry

Questions & Answers about Unnskyld, jeg kommer for sent.

What does each word in Unnskyld, jeg kommer for sent literally mean?

• Unnskyld – literally excuse (imperative form of å unnskylde = to excuse). Used like sorry or excuse me.
• jeg – I.
• kommer – come / am coming.
• for – here it means too, as in too late, not for like in English for you.
• sent – adverb form of sen (late), so sent = late(ly) / late as an adverb.

So the literal idea is: Excuse (me), I come too late.

Why do Norwegians say jeg kommer for sent (I come too late) instead of something like I am late?

Norwegian often uses the verb komme (to come) to talk about arriving late.
The set expression is å komme for sent = to be late (for something).
So jeg kommer for sent is the natural idiomatic way to say I’m late / I’m arriving late.
You can also use å være sen (to be late) in other structures, but for apologizing about arriving late, komme for sent is very common and very natural.

Can I say jeg er for sent instead of jeg kommer for sent?

No, jeg er for sent is ungrammatical.
The correct adjective form with være (to be) is sen, not sent:

• jeg er sen = I am late (describing me).
  In jeg kommer for sent, sent is an adverb describing kommer (how you come), so it must be sent, not sen.
  So:
• With komme → jeg kommer for sent.
• With være → jeg er sen.

What is the difference between sen and sent?

Both are from the same word, but:

• sen is the adjective form: en sen buss (a late bus), jeg er sen (I am late).
• sent is the adverb form: han kom sent (he came late), jeg kommer for sent (I come too late).
  In this sentence, sent modifies the verb kommer, so it must be the adverb.

Is for here the same as English for?

No. In for sent, for works as an intensifier meaning too or excessively.
So for sent = too late.
It’s similar in other phrases: for mye (too much), for stor (too big), for tidlig (too early).
It is not the preposition for as in for you / for three days.

Is Unnskyld the same as Beklager? Which should I use?

Both can mean sorry, but there is a nuance:

• Unnskyld is a bit more general: sorry, excuse me, pardon. You can use it when bumping into someone, trying to get someone’s attention, or apologizing.
• Beklager is more like I’m sorry / I regret (that) and sounds slightly more formal or serious.
  In this exact context, you could say either:
• Unnskyld, jeg kommer for sent.
• Beklager, jeg kommer for sent.
  Both are correct; Unnskyld is very common in everyday speech.

Could I just say Unnskyld for at jeg er sen to mean Sorry for being late?

Yes. Unnskyld for at jeg er sen is also natural Norwegian and close to the English wording.
Some common variants are:

• Unnskyld at jeg er sen.
• Beklager at jeg er sen.
• Beklager at jeg kom for sent. (past tense)
  Your original sentence Unnskyld, jeg kommer for sent is especially common when you’re on your way or just arriving and want to apologize.

Is the comma after Unnskyld required, and why is jeg not capitalized after the comma?

The comma is optional in casual writing here, just like in English Sorry, I’m late.
You could also write: Unnskyld. Jeg kommer for sent.
Norwegian does not capitalize jeg; the pronoun jeg is always lower-case, even after a comma or in the middle of a sentence.
Only the first word of a sentence is capitalized, not the first word after a comma.

Can I drop jeg and just say Unnskyld, kommer for sent?

No, not in standard Norwegian.
Norwegian is not a pro‑drop language, so you normally must include the subject pronoun (jeg, du, etc.).
So you should say Unnskyld, jeg kommer for sent, not Unnskyld, kommer for sent.
If you see Kommer for sent in a text message, it’s an informal shortcut, not standard grammar.

Why is the verb before for sent? Could I say jeg for sent kommer?

Norwegian main clauses follow a verb‑second pattern: subject + verb + other elements.
So the normal order is jeg kommer for sent:

• jeg (subject)
• kommer (verb)
• for sent (adverbial phrase)
  Jeg for sent kommer would sound very wrong and unidiomatic. The adverbial (here: for sent) typically comes after the main verb in simple sentences like this.

Which tense is kommer, and why not use a past tense if I’m already late?

Kommer is the present tense of å komme (to come).
Norwegian often uses the present tense to describe actions that are happening now or around now, even if the “lateness” has already started when you say it.
So jeg kommer for sent is used both when you are on your way and know you will be late, and when you arrive and say Sorry, I’m late.
If you really want to stress that it already happened, you can say jeg kom for sent (I came late / I was late), but for a normal apology on arrival, the present is usual.

How do you pronounce Unnskyld, jeg kommer for sent?

Approximate pronunciation (Bokmål, standard-ish):

• Unnskyld ≈ OON-shild, with y like the French u in tu (a front rounded vowel).
• jeg ≈ yai (like yay with a bit of y at the start).
• kommer ≈ KOM-mer (both ms clearly pronounced; o like in British got).
• for ≈ for or fohr, similar to English for but a bit shorter.
• sent ≈ sent, with e like in set, and a clear t at the end.

Said together at normal speed, you might hear something like:
OON-shild, yai KOM-mer fo(r) sent.