Perdón, llegué tarde.

Yes. Perdón is a very natural way to say Sorry or Excuse me in Spanish.

In Perdón, llegué tarde, it works like a quick apology before explaining what happened.

Depending on tone and situation, you could also hear:

• Perdón.
• Disculpa.
• Lo siento.

In much of Latin America, Perdón sounds completely normal in everyday speech.

Llegué is the preterite form of llegar, meaning I arrived.

• llego = I arrive / I am arriving
• llegué = I arrived

So the sentence literally means Sorry, I arrived late.

In real-life use, Spanish often uses the simple past where English might prefer I’m late or Sorry I’m late. So even though llegué tarde is literally past tense, it can function very naturally as an apology for being late.

Because Spanish and English do not always talk about the same situation in exactly the same way.

Spanish often focuses on the completed action:

• llegué tarde = I arrived late

English often focuses on the present result:

• I’m late

So if you walk into a meeting after it has started, Perdón, llegué tarde is a natural Spanish way to apologize, even if English would usually say Sorry, I’m late.

Spanish usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The ending -é in llegué already tells you the subject is I.

So:

• llegué tarde = I arrived late

You could say yo llegué tarde, but that usually adds emphasis or contrast, such as:

• Yo llegué tarde, pero ella no.
  I arrived late, but she didn’t.

In a simple apology, leaving out yo is more natural.

The accent mark in llegué shows both pronunciation and correct spelling.

This is the yo form of the preterite of llegar:

• llegar → llegué

Also, verbs ending in -gar change spelling in the yo preterite to keep the hard g sound:

• llegar → llegué
• pagar → pagué

Without the u, ge would sound different in Spanish. So llegué keeps the correct sound.

A good approximate pronunciation is:

yeh-GEH

More specifically:

• lle- often sounds like ye- in much of Latin America
• gué has stress on the last syllable because of the accent mark

So the whole sentence is approximately: pehr-DON, yeh-GEH TAR-deh

Pronunciation varies by region. In some places, ll may sound a bit like j, zh, or sh, but for many learners, using a y sound is a good starting point.

Here, tarde means late.

In llegué tarde, it is functioning like an adverb:

• arrived late

Do not confuse it with la tarde, which means the afternoon.

Examples:

• Llegué tarde. = I arrived late.
• Trabajo por la tarde. = I work in the afternoon.

So the meaning depends on context.

Because tarde by itself already means late.

If you want to make it stronger, you can add words like:

• Llegué muy tarde. = I arrived very late.
• Llegué un poco tarde. = I arrived a little late.
• Llegué demasiado tarde. = I arrived too late.

But in the original sentence, plain tarde is enough.

Yes. That is also correct and very common.

• Perdón, llegué tarde. = Sorry, I arrived late.
• Perdón por llegar tarde. = Sorry for arriving late / Sorry for being late.

The first sounds like a direct apology plus explanation.
The second specifically says what you are apologizing for.

Both are natural.

All three can be used for apologizing, but they are not always identical.

• Perdón = Sorry / Excuse me
  Common, quick, everyday apology.

• Disculpa = Sorry / Excuse me
  Also common. In some contexts it can sound a bit like pardon me.

• Lo siento = I’m sorry
  Often feels a bit more emotional or serious.

For being late in an everyday situation, Perdón is very natural.

Examples:

• Perdón, llegué tarde.
• Disculpa, llegué tarde.
• Lo siento, llegué tarde.

All are possible, but Perdón fits a brief everyday apology well.

No. Estoy tarde is not the normal way to say I’m late in Spanish.

Instead, Spanish usually says:

• Voy tarde. = I’m late / I’m running late
• Llegué tarde. = I arrived late
• Se me hizo tarde. = I ended up late / It got late on me

So if you have already arrived and want to apologize, Perdón, llegué tarde is a good choice.

It is fairly neutral and works in many situations.

• Perdón is common and natural in everyday speech.
• The sentence is not especially formal, but it is not rude either.

If you want to sound more formal, you could say:

• Perdón por llegar tarde.
• Disculpe la demora.
• Lo siento por llegar tarde.

But Perdón, llegué tarde is perfectly acceptable in many normal social and workplace situations, depending on tone and context.

Yes. It is widely understandable and natural across Latin America.

Small regional preferences may exist:

• Some places may prefer disculpa more often
• Some may say voy tarde in slightly different situations
• Pronunciation of ll can vary by country

But Perdón, llegué tarde is standard and broadly usable.