See better late than never in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for better late than never meaning in English (10.1kB)
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la",
"3": "potius sero quam numquam",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "calque of Latin potius sero quam numquam",
"name": "clq"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Perhaps a calque of Latin potius sero quam numquam from the 4th book of Ab Urbe condita (History of Rome) by Titus Livius, around 27 BC.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "adverb"
},
"expansion": "better late than never",
"name": "head"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "adv",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English aphorisms",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"parents": [
"Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant script codes",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant transliterations",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "c. 27 BCE, Livy, Ab Urbe Condita [From the Founding of the City], published 1996",
"text": "(please add the primary text of this quotation)\nTheir insolence and recklessness must be opposed, and better late than never.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1989 June 16, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, directed by Ivan Reitman, Ghostbusters II, spoken by Dock Supervisor (Cheech Marin)",
"text": "[after seeing the ghost of the Titanic arrive in New York Harbor] Well, better late than never.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"It is better to do something late, than to never do it at all."
],
"id": "en-better_late_than_never-en-adv-xe2ac5I5",
"links": [
[
"better",
"better"
],
[
"late",
"late"
]
],
"related": [
{
"word": "better safe than sorry"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "sq",
"lang": "Albanian",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "më mirë vonë se kurrë"
},
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "ʔan yaʔtī mutaʔaḵḵiran ḵayr min ʔallā yaʔtī ʔabadan",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "أَن يَأْتِي مُتَأَخِّرًا خَيْر مِن أَلَّا يَأْتِي أَبَدًا"
},
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "lav ē uš, kʿan erbekʿ",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "լավ է ուշ, քան երբեք"
},
{
"code": "eu",
"lang": "Basque",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "hobe da berandu sekula baino"
},
{
"code": "br",
"lang": "Breton",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "gwelloc'h diwezhat eget gwech ebet"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "po-dobre kǎsno otkolkoto nikoga",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "по-добре късно отколкото никога"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "més val tard que no mai"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "遲做總比不做好"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "chí zuò zǒng bǐ bù zuò hǎo",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "迟做总比不做好"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "亡羊補牢"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "wángyángbǔláo",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "亡羊补牢"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "lepší pozdě než nikdy"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "bedre sent end aldrig"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "beter laat dan nooit"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "pli bone malfrue ol neniam"
},
{
"code": "et",
"lang": "Estonian",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "parem hilja kui mitte kunagi"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "parempi myöhään kuin ei milloinkaan"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "mieux vaut tard que jamais"
},
{
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "sǯobs gvian vidre arasdros",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "სჯობს გვიან ვიდრე არასდროს"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "besser spät als nie"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "kállio argá pará poté",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "κάλλιο αργά παρά ποτέ"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "עדיף מאוחר מאשר לעולם לא"
},
{
"code": "hi",
"lang": "Hindi",
"roman": "jab jāti tab savere",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "जब जाति तब सवेरे"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "jobb későn, mint soha"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "meglio tardi che mai"
},
{
"alt": "おそくてもやらないよりまし",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "osokutemo yaranai yori mashi",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "遅くてもやらないよりまし"
},
{
"code": "kk",
"lang": "Kazakh",
"roman": "eşten keş jaqsy",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "ештен кеш жақсы"
},
{
"code": "la",
"lang": "Latin",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "potius sero quam numquam"
},
{
"code": "la",
"lang": "Latin",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "potiusque sero quam numquam"
},
{
"code": "mhr",
"lang": "Eastern Mari",
"roman": "kyzyt ogyl gyn, lučo vara",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "кызыт огыл гын, лучо вара"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "bedre sent enn aldri"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "bedre seint enn aldri"
},
{
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "betre seint enn aldri"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"roman": "dir âyad o šir âyad",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "دیر آید و شیر آید"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "lepiej późno niż wcale"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "lepiej późno niż później"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "antes tarde do que nunca"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "mais vale tarde do que nunca"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "mai bine mai târziu decât niciodată"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "lúčše pózdno, čem nikogdá",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "лу́чше по́здно, чем никогда́"
},
{
"code": "sl",
"lang": "Slovene",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "bolje pozno kot nikoli"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "más vale tarde que nunca"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "nunca es tarde si la dicha es buena"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "bättre sent än aldrig"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "geç olsun da güç olmasın"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "krášče pízno, niž nikóly",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "кра́ще пі́зно, ніж ніко́ли"
},
{
"code": "ur",
"lang": "Urdu",
"roman": "der ā'ye durust ā'ye",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "دیر آئے درست آئے"
},
{
"code": "cy",
"lang": "Welsh",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "gwell rhywbryd na byth"
}
]
}
],
"word": "better late than never"
}
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la",
"3": "potius sero quam numquam",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "calque of Latin potius sero quam numquam",
"name": "clq"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Perhaps a calque of Latin potius sero quam numquam from the 4th book of Ab Urbe condita (History of Rome) by Titus Livius, around 27 BC.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "adverb"
},
"expansion": "better late than never",
"name": "head"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "adv",
"related": [
{
"word": "better safe than sorry"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English adverbs",
"English aphorisms",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English terms calqued from Latin",
"English terms derived from Latin",
"English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"English terms with quotations",
"Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
"Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "c. 27 BCE, Livy, Ab Urbe Condita [From the Founding of the City], published 1996",
"text": "(please add the primary text of this quotation)\nTheir insolence and recklessness must be opposed, and better late than never.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1989 June 16, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, directed by Ivan Reitman, Ghostbusters II, spoken by Dock Supervisor (Cheech Marin)",
"text": "[after seeing the ghost of the Titanic arrive in New York Harbor] Well, better late than never.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"It is better to do something late, than to never do it at all."
],
"links": [
[
"better",
"better"
],
[
"late",
"late"
]
]
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "sq",
"lang": "Albanian",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "më mirë vonë se kurrë"
},
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "ʔan yaʔtī mutaʔaḵḵiran ḵayr min ʔallā yaʔtī ʔabadan",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "أَن يَأْتِي مُتَأَخِّرًا خَيْر مِن أَلَّا يَأْتِي أَبَدًا"
},
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "lav ē uš, kʿan erbekʿ",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "լավ է ուշ, քան երբեք"
},
{
"code": "eu",
"lang": "Basque",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "hobe da berandu sekula baino"
},
{
"code": "br",
"lang": "Breton",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "gwelloc'h diwezhat eget gwech ebet"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "po-dobre kǎsno otkolkoto nikoga",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "по-добре късно отколкото никога"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "més val tard que no mai"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "遲做總比不做好"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "chí zuò zǒng bǐ bù zuò hǎo",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "迟做总比不做好"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "亡羊補牢"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "wángyángbǔláo",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "亡羊补牢"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "lepší pozdě než nikdy"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "bedre sent end aldrig"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "beter laat dan nooit"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "pli bone malfrue ol neniam"
},
{
"code": "et",
"lang": "Estonian",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "parem hilja kui mitte kunagi"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "parempi myöhään kuin ei milloinkaan"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "mieux vaut tard que jamais"
},
{
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "sǯobs gvian vidre arasdros",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "სჯობს გვიან ვიდრე არასდროს"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "besser spät als nie"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "kállio argá pará poté",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "κάλλιο αργά παρά ποτέ"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "עדיף מאוחר מאשר לעולם לא"
},
{
"code": "hi",
"lang": "Hindi",
"roman": "jab jāti tab savere",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "जब जाति तब सवेरे"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "jobb későn, mint soha"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "meglio tardi che mai"
},
{
"alt": "おそくてもやらないよりまし",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "osokutemo yaranai yori mashi",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "遅くてもやらないよりまし"
},
{
"code": "kk",
"lang": "Kazakh",
"roman": "eşten keş jaqsy",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "ештен кеш жақсы"
},
{
"code": "la",
"lang": "Latin",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "potius sero quam numquam"
},
{
"code": "la",
"lang": "Latin",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "potiusque sero quam numquam"
},
{
"code": "mhr",
"lang": "Eastern Mari",
"roman": "kyzyt ogyl gyn, lučo vara",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "кызыт огыл гын, лучо вара"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "bedre sent enn aldri"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "bedre seint enn aldri"
},
{
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "betre seint enn aldri"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"roman": "dir âyad o šir âyad",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "دیر آید و شیر آید"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "lepiej późno niż wcale"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "lepiej późno niż później"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "antes tarde do que nunca"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "mais vale tarde do que nunca"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "mai bine mai târziu decât niciodată"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "lúčše pózdno, čem nikogdá",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "лу́чше по́здно, чем никогда́"
},
{
"code": "sl",
"lang": "Slovene",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "bolje pozno kot nikoli"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "más vale tarde que nunca"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "nunca es tarde si la dicha es buena"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "bättre sent än aldrig"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "geç olsun da güç olmasın"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "krášče pízno, niž nikóly",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "кра́ще пі́зно, ніж ніко́ли"
},
{
"code": "ur",
"lang": "Urdu",
"roman": "der ā'ye durust ā'ye",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "دیر آئے درست آئے"
},
{
"code": "cy",
"lang": "Welsh",
"sense": "it's better to do something late, than to never do it at all",
"word": "gwell rhywbryd na byth"
}
],
"word": "better late than never"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (210104c and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.