late

Compared meaning: happening later than expected (adjective).

比较义项：迟的，晚于预定时间发生的（形容词）。

• late 本词

  Common everyday word for anything that happens after the expected time — a person, a train, a payment, an event; can directly describe a person who arrives late.

  日常通用词，指任何晚于预期时间发生的事物——人、火车、付款、事件等；可以直接形容迟到的人。

  I was late for work because of heavy traffic.

  因为交通拥堵，我上班迟到了。

• belated

  More formal word, used mainly with wishes, apologies, greetings or thanks that come later than they should have; not used to say a person arrived late.

  较为正式的词，主要用于迟来的祝福、道歉、问候或感谢；不用来说某人本人迟到了。

  Please accept my belated wishes for your birthday last week.

  请接受我对你上周生日迟来的祝福。

Both words mean happening later than expected. Late is the common word, used for a person, a train, a payment, or an event; it can describe someone who arrives late. Belated is more formal, used with wishes, apologies, or greetings, not with a person.

这两个词都表示“迟”“发生得比预期晚”，但语气和使用场合不同：late是日常通用词，可以形容人迟到、迟到的事物或事件；belated更正式，通常只用于迟来的祝福、道歉、问候等表达，不用来说某人本人迟到。这里不比较late的其他含义，例如“已故的”（the late Mr. Smith）。

Compared meaning: no longer alive, dead (adjective).

比较义项：已经死去、不再活着（形容词）。

• dead

  The plain, blunt, everyday word for no longer alive; used for people, animals or plants; works both before a noun and after a linking verb; carries no softening tone.

  最普通、直白的日常用词，指不再存活，可用于人、动物或植物；既能放在名词前，也能跟在系动词后面；没有委婉语气。

  The doctors confirmed that the patient was already dead on arrival.

  医生确认这名病人送到时已经死亡。

• late 本词

  A euphemistic, slightly formal word used ONLY right before a name or a family noun to mean someone who has died; it cannot follow a linking verb with this meaning.

  一个委婉、略正式的词，只能直接放在人名或亲属称谓前面，表示某人已经去世；不能跟在系动词后面表达这个意思。

  My late grandmother used to bake bread every Sunday morning.

  我已故的祖母以前每个星期天都会烤面包。

• gone

  A soft, informal, comforting euphemism, almost always used after a linking verb like "be" or "have been"; it feels gentler than dead and is common in spoken, emotional contexts.

  一个柔和、口语化、带安慰意味的委婉说法，几乎总是跟在系动词（如 be、have been）后面；语气比 dead 更温和，常见于口语和情感场合。

  Her father has been gone for almost ten years now.

  她父亲已经去世将近十年了。

• deceased

  A formal, official word typical of legal, medical or obituary language; often used before a noun or as a noun phrase ("the deceased"); it sounds cold and out of place in casual speech.

  一个正式、公文化的词，常见于法律、医学或讣告语言；常放在名词前，或本身作名词短语（“the deceased”意为“死者”）；在日常口语中使用会显得冷漠、不合场合。

  The deceased man's family requested a private funeral service next week.

  这位已故男子的家人要求下周举行一场私人葬礼。

Dead, late, gone, and deceased all mean no longer alive, but tone and grammar differ. Dead is plain, used for people or animals. Late goes only right before a name, meaning that person died. Gone is soft, used mainly after 'be'. Deceased is formal.

这几个词都表示“已经死去、不再存活”，但语气、正式程度和语法用法差别很大，中国学习者容易用错场合。这里不比较 dead 表示“（电池等）没电的”义项，late 表示“迟到的”义项，也不比较 gone 表示“离开了、用完了”等义项。