---
title: "来不及 (láibují) in Chinese Grammar: Not enough time (to), With Examples"
description: "来不及 (láibují): not enough time (to); too late to. 来不及 + verb: there is no longer time to do it (再不走就来不及了 “if we don’t leave now it’ll be too late”). 3 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/laibuji"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# 来不及 láibují

Not enough time (to); too late to

狐狸húlifox

来不及 + verb: there is no longer time to do it (再不走就来不及了 “if we don’t leave now it’ll be too late”).

## In stories

曹操想追，已经**来不及**了。

Cao Cao wanted to give chase, but it was too late.

[草船借箭 · Borrowing arrows with straw boats](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/borrowing-arrows-with-straw-boats#library-word-707-710) HSK 5

等曹操得知，这边船身轻，水流急，已经驶出二十多里，追也**来不及**了。

By the time Cao Cao heard, the boats were light and the current was fast, and they were already more than twenty li away, too far to catch.

[草船借箭 · Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/borrowing-arrows-with-straw-boats-three-kingdoms-advanced-chinese-13#library-word-897-900) HSK 7–9

关羽骑上赤兔马，提刀冲进敌阵，如入无人之境，颜良还**来不及**开口，便被他一刀斩于马下。

Guan Yu mounted Red Hare, took up his blade and charged into the enemy lines as if no one were there; before Yan Liang could even speak, one stroke cut him down from his horse.

[千里走单骑 · A Thousand Li Alone](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/a-thousand-li-alone-three-kingdoms-advanced-chinese-5#library-word-670-673)

## Your turn

Write your own sentence with 来不及. It's checked, and you'll see if the pattern is there.

[Read 草船借箭](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/borrowing-arrows-with-straw-boats#library-word-707-710)

## More patterns

- [去/来 + place + verb (go somewhere to do something) go somewhere to do something](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/qu-place-v)
- [verb + 不/得 + result (potential) cannot / can (manage to) …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-c)
- [verb + 不了/得了 cannot …; can …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-liao)
- [越来越 + adjective more and more …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yuelaiyue)
- [谁 + 也/都 + (V不C) no one / nothing: …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shei-ye-neg-v)
- [verb + 来 + verb + 去 do something over and over; back and forth](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-lai-v-qu)

## Now read them in a real story

[**十两饺子**How to order dumplings in ChineseHSK 1 · 1 minRead it free](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-order-dumplings-in-chinese)

## What does 来不及 (láibují) mean in Chinese?

Not enough time (to); too late to. 来不及 + verb: there is no longer time to do it (再不走就来不及了 “if we don’t leave now it’ll be too late”).

## How common is 来不及?

It comes up in 3 readings of the 462 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

The finder doesn’t: it shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does. To have a sentence you wrote corrected, with each mistake explained, use the Chinese grammar checker.

## More free tools

- [Chinese grammar checker](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar-checker): your mistakes fixed
- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.