Cancelling plans and being late in Spanish, in Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina
Somebody invites you out, and you cannot go. Or you can, and you are twenty minutes behind. Both messages are short, both are sent on WhatsApp, and both go wrong in a learner’s hands, usually by apologising far too much for something nobody minds. This page has the phrases for saying no, cancelling, moving a plan and arriving late, what the other person will write back, and how late counts as late in Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina.
Saying no to a plan
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I can’t | No puedo. | The whole message, most of the time |
| I can’t that day | Ese día no puedo. | |
| I won’t be able to | No voy a poder. | Softer than no puedo |
| I’d love to, but | Me encantaría, pero… | |
| I have something on | Tengo un compromiso. | A commitment, not necessarily important |
| Another time | Otro día. / Otra vez será. | |
| Sorry, I can’t make it | Perdón, no llego. | No llego means both “I can’t get there” and “I won’t make it in time” |
You do not need a reason. No voy a poder, perdón is a complete message in all four countries. Inventing an elaborate excuse is the learner’s instinct and people find it odd, because native speakers usually give one vague clause and stop.
Cancelling on the day
The universal phrase is me surgió algo, something came up. People in each country have a favourite version.
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Something came up | Me surgió algo. | Me ha surgido algo. | Me salió algo. | Me surgió algo. |
| It got complicated | Se me complicó. | Se me ha complicado. | Se me complicó. | Se me complicó. |
| I have to cancel | Te tengo que cancelar. | Tengo que cancelarlo. | Toca cancelar. | Tengo que cancelar. |
| I’m not going to make it | No voy a poder llegar. | Al final no puedo. | No voy a poder. | No voy a llegar. |
In Spain people use the present perfect for anything that happened today: me ha surgido algo esta mañana. In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina people use the simple past for the same sentence: me surgió algo esta mañana. Both are correct grammar in every country. It is a regional habit rather than a rule, and if you use the local one, your Spanish sounds local.
Toca in Colombia means “it falls to us”, and people use it for any unwelcome necessity: toca cancelar, we have to cancel; toca otro día, it will have to be another day.
Moving it to another day
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shall we leave it for another day? | ¿Lo dejamos para otro día? | Works everywhere, and it is the polite exit |
| Can we move it? | ¿Lo podemos mover? | Mexico, Colombia |
| Let’s push it to Thursday | Lo pasamos al jueves. | Spain, Argentina |
| Let’s push it to Thursday | Lo dejamos para el jueves. | Mexico, Colombia |
| Let’s sort out another day | Cuadramos otro día. | Colombia, where cuadrar is to arrange a plan |
| Let’s arrange something for next week | Armamos algo la semana que viene. | Argentina |
| When suits you? | ¿Cuándo te viene bien? (Spain) / ¿Cuándo te queda bien? (Mexico, Colombia) / ¿Cuándo te viene bien? (Argentina) | |
| I owe you one | Te debo una. | For the drink you cancelled |
If you offer a new day, the cancellation is normal and not rude. In Colombia the whole exchange can happen in two words: ¿cuadramos?, shall we fix a day, answered with de una, absolutely.
Running late
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I’m running late | Voy a llegar tarde. / Llego tarde. | |
| I’m ten minutes late | Llego diez minutos tarde. | |
| I’m on my way | Voy en camino. (Mexico, Colombia) / Voy de camino. (Spain) / Estoy yendo. (Argentina) | All four understand all of them |
| I’m nearly there | Ya casi llego. / Estoy llegando. | Estoy llegando is said from a long way away |
| I’m leaving now | Ya salgo. / Voy saliendo. | Voy saliendo in Mexico means “I am in the act of leaving”, loosely |
| Give me ten minutes | Dame diez minutos. | Dame is the same word in tú and vos |
| Give me five | Dame cinco. / Dame cinco minutos. | |
| I’m stuck in traffic | Hay un tráfico horrible. (Mexico) / Hay mucho tráfico. / Estoy en un atasco. (Spain) / Hay un trancón. (Colombia) / Estoy en un embotellamiento. (Argentina) | |
| I lost track of the time | Se me hizo tarde. | Spain: se me ha hecho tarde |
| I missed the bus | Perdí el autobús. / Perdí el camión. (Mexico) / Perdí el bus. (Colombia) / Perdí el colectivo. (Argentina) |
Trancón is the Colombian word for a traffic jam and it is used constantly in Bogotá. Mexicans say tráfico for the jam itself, not only the traffic. Spaniards say atasco. Argentines write embotellamiento and say hay un quilombo de tránsito when annoyed, which is informal and best left to locals.
How late is late
The honest answer differs by country and by the kind of plan. Work is punctual everywhere. Everything else is not.
Mexico. A dinner at someone’s house at eight means arriving between eight thirty and nine. If you turn up at eight on the dot, you can catch the host in the shower. A restaurant booking, a coffee with one friend and anything with a doctor are on time. If someone means the real hour they will say hora inglesa or puntual, ¿eh?
Spain. Fifteen minutes late to a private plan is invisible. Half an hour is late, and you send a message. Dinner at a Spanish house does not start when you arrive, so an eight o’clock invitation is for drinks and the food comes later. Bars and cinemas are on time because the film is.
Colombia. In Bogotá everyone is late because of the traffic and everyone forgives it, so people expect a message rather than punctuality. A party is fluid. A meeting, a class and a medical appointment are not. The phrase you will hear is con el trancón, blamed for everything and often true.
Argentina. An asado at one means people arriving from one thirty. A dinner at nine means ten. Arriving exactly on time at a house is unusual enough that hosts sometimes are not ready. Theatre, football and the office run on the clock. If someone wants the literal hour they will say a las ocho en punto or, in Buenos Aires, hora inglesa.
People build the flexibility into the way they say the time.
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Around eight | como a las ocho | sobre las ocho | a eso de las ocho | tipo ocho |
| Eight sharp | a las ocho en punto | a las ocho en punto | a las ocho en punto | a las ocho en punto |
| Shall we meet at eight? | ¿Nos vemos a las ocho? | ¿Quedamos a las ocho? | ¿Nos vemos a las ocho? | ¿Nos vemos a las ocho? |
Quedar in Spain is the verb for arranging to meet: hemos quedado a las nueve, we are meeting at nine; ¿quedamos?, shall we meet. This use is particular to Spain, so in Mexico or Colombia use nos vemos or quedamos de vernos.
Ahorita, ya voy, and the minutes that are not minutes
Ahorita is the Mexican word learners misread most. It is the diminutive of ahora, now, and it means anything from this second to later today to never. Ahorita voy from a friend leaving home means fifteen to forty minutes. Ahorita le traigo la cuenta from a waiter means soon. Ahorita lo hago from a colleague may mean it is not happening. Mexicans read the meaning from the tone and the situation without effort.
Colombians use ahorita too, and there it is closer to “in a little while” or, confusingly, “a moment ago”. Ya mismo and ya voy are the stronger versions.
In Spain people do not say ahorita. They say ahora voy, enseguida or en cinco minutos, and enseguida really does mean shortly. Argentines say ya voy, en un ratito and recién for something that just happened: recién salí, I just left.
In every country ya voy means “I am coming”, and people who say it often have not left. Ya salí, I have left, is the one that is checkable, which is why people ask for it: ¿ya saliste?
The message you actually send
All of this happens on WhatsApp. Real messages are short, lower case, and often two or three in a row rather than one long one.
Cancelling the night before, Mexico:
Oye, perdón, al final no voy a poder mañana. Me surgió algo del trabajo. ¿Lo dejamos para la otra semana? Hey, sorry, I can’t make it tomorrow after all. Something came up at work. Shall we leave it for next week?
Cancelling on the day, Spain:
Ay, perdona, se me ha complicado la tarde y no llego. ¿Lo pasamos al jueves? Sorry, my afternoon got complicated and I won’t make it. Shall we move it to Thursday?
Running late, Colombia:
Qué pena, voy en camino pero hay un trancón tremendo. Llego en veinte. So sorry, I’m on my way but the traffic is terrible. I’ll be there in twenty.
Running late, Argentina:
Perdón, salí tarde. Estoy llegando, tipo diez minutos. Pedí vos si querés. Sorry, I left late. I’m nearly there, about ten minutes. Order without me if you like.
Two habits worth copying. Give a number, because from ya casi llego on its own the other person learns nothing. And send the message before the hour rather than after it, because whether anyone is annoyed depends on that part.
In Spain, Argentina and Colombia people send a lot of this as voice notes, and a twenty second audio is a normal reply to a written question.
Apologising without over-apologising
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sorry | Perdón. | The everyday apology in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina |
| Sorry | Perdona. (tú) / Perdone. (usted) | Spain’s normal form |
| I’m sorry | Lo siento. | Heavier. For bad news and real harm, not for ten minutes |
| I’m so sorry | Lo siento mucho. | |
| So embarrassing, sorry | Qué pena contigo. / Qué pena con usted. | Colombia, and it is the ordinary apology there |
| My apologies | Una disculpa. / Mil disculpas. | Mexico |
Lo siento is far too heavy for a ten minute delay. Perdón is enough. Colombians say qué pena for everything from bumping into someone to cancelling a dinner, and it is much lighter than the translation.
And avisar, to let someone know, is the verb you use most for all of this: avísame, let me know; te aviso, I’ll let you know; avisé con tiempo, I gave notice.
What the other person will say
| You will hear | Where | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| No pasa nada. | Everywhere, especially Spain | It’s fine |
| Tranquilo / tranquila. / Tranqui. | Everywhere | Don’t worry about it |
| No te preocupes. | Everywhere | Don’t worry |
| No hay bronca. | Mexico | No problem, informal |
| Fresco. / Fresca. | Colombia | Relax, it’s fine |
| Listo. | Colombia | Right, done, agreed |
| De una. | Colombia | Absolutely, let’s do it |
| Dale. | Argentina, Colombia | Ok, go ahead |
| Vale. | Spain | Ok |
| Va. / Sale. / Órale. | Mexico | Ok, agreed |
| Otra vez será. | Spain | Another time, then |
Fresco in Colombia is said to a friend who is apologising too much, and it is the signal to stop.
Ten sentences you can say tomorrow
- Perdón, no voy a poder hoy. ¿Lo dejamos para otro día? Sorry, I can’t today. Shall we leave it for another day?
- Me surgió algo del trabajo, te aviso mañana. Something came up at work, I’ll let you know tomorrow.
- Se me ha complicado la tarde, ¿lo pasamos al jueves? My afternoon got complicated, shall we move it to Thursday? (Spain)
- Qué pena, voy en camino, hay trancón. So sorry, I’m on my way, the traffic is bad. (Colombia)
- Voy saliendo, dame quince minutos. I’m on my way out, give me fifteen minutes. (Mexico)
- Estoy llegando, tipo diez minutos. I’m nearly there, about ten minutes. (Argentina)
- ¿Nos vemos a las ocho? Dale. Shall we meet at eight? Ok. (Argentina)
- ¿Quedamos sobre las nueve? Shall we meet around nine? (Spain)
- Empiecen sin mí, llego tarde. Start without me, I’m running late.
- Cuadramos la otra semana, ¿listo? Let’s sort out next week, ok? (Colombia)
Questions people ask
Is it rude to cancel by text? No. A message is the normal channel for a social plan in all four countries, and calling to cancel a coffee would be more dramatic than necessary. Work is different, where a call or an email is expected.
Do I need to give a reason? No. Me surgió algo is a reason as far as anyone is concerned. Adding detail is fine but nobody requires it, and people hear a long explanation as a guilty one.
How late can I be to a dinner at someone’s house? Mexico and Argentina: half an hour to an hour, and arriving on the dot can be awkward. Spain: fifteen to twenty minutes. Colombia: half an hour, with a message. Restaurants with a booking are on time everywhere.
What does “ahorita” really mean? In Mexico, some unspecified time that could be immediately or never. In Colombia, in a little while. People in Spain and Argentina do not use it. If you need a real answer, ask ¿ahorita ahorita? in Mexico, which is the standard joke and a genuine question.
How do I say I was stood up? Me dejó plantado / plantada, everywhere. In Spain people also say me dio plantón, and in Argentina me dejó colgado.
Is “lo siento” wrong for being late? Not wrong, just too heavy. Perdón por la tardanza or simply perdón fits. Save lo siento for bad news.
How do I ask someone to confirm? ¿Confirmamos? or ¿Sigue en pie?, is it still on. In Argentina and Colombia people also say ¿seguimos? for the same thing.
Practise these words
poder, llegar, tarde, perdón, disculpa, avisar, cancelar, quedar, camino, salir, esperar, tráfico, minuto. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.