Late Emoji – ⏰ 🏃 and 39 More for Running Late

Message lines 8

How it works

Alarm clock, U+23F0, sits above Copy. Under it are 40 tiles: clocks and waiting, the rush, the apology, hourglasses in plain text, message lines and running late combos.

Read the full guide

Two emoji mean late

CLDR, Unicode's list of search words, files only two emoji under late: ⏰ Alarm clock and 🫩 Face with bags under eyes, which arrived in Emoji 16.0. The rest of the page is the story around them: the run, the car, the train, and the sorry at the end.

Lines ready to send

Eight lines are whole messages: Running late, sorry; On my way; Stuck in traffic. One has a blank: paste Be there in ___, then type the minutes over the underscores.

Tips

🏃 takes skin tones, and so do 🙇 and 🙏: pick one on the tone row before you copy.
⧗ and ⧖ are hourglasses that are not emoji, for a line that should stay plain.
For the apology alone, 🙇 is the one CLDR files under apology and forgive.

Questions and answers

What emoji means running late?

⏰🏃, Alarm clock then Person running, says it without words. CLDR files ⏰ under late and 🏃 under hurry and rush.

What emoji says sorry I'm late?

😬🙏 or ⌛🙇. 😬 Grimacing face is filed under awkward, and 🙇 Person bowing under apology and forgive. Add the line Running late, sorry if a word helps.

Why does 🫩 show as a box?

Face with bags under eyes is from Emoji 16.0. A phone or computer that has not been updated since has no drawing for it yet, so ⏰ is the safer choice.

All 41 emoji

Late: clocks and waiting 8

Alarm clock U+23F0. The alarm clock, one of two emoji CLDR files under late; it also lists waiting. It has a text form. Emoji 0.6.
Eight o’clock U+1F557. A clock at eight. Every hour and half hour has its own clock emoji. Emoji 0.6.
Face with bags under eyes U+1FAE9. The other one CLDR files under late, with tired and exhausted. Emoji 16.0, so an older phone may show a box. Emoji 16.0.
Hourglass done U+231B. The sand has run out. It has a text form. Emoji 0.6.
Hourglass not done U+23F3. Sand still running. CLDR lists waiting. Emoji 0.6.
Nine o’clock U+1F558. Nine, when the day was meant to start. Emoji 0.6.
Stopwatch U+23F1 U+FE0F. A stopwatch, for counting the minutes. It has a text form. Emoji 1.0.
Watch U+231A. A wristwatch, checked again. It has a text form. Emoji 0.6.

The rush 7

Automobile U+1F697. A car, for the drive in. Emoji 0.6.
Bus U+1F68C. The bus that came late, or not at all. Emoji 0.6.
Construction U+1F6A7. A road barrier, for roadworks on the way. Emoji 0.6.
Dashing away U+1F4A8. A puff of speed. CLDR lists gotta go. Emoji 0.6.
Person running U+1F3C3. Running for it. The emoji CLDR files under hurry and rush. It takes skin tones. Emoji 0.6.
Train U+1F686. A train, for a delay on the line. Emoji 1.0.
Vertical traffic light U+1F6A6. A traffic light. CLDR files it under traffic. Emoji 1.0.

Show all 41 emoji (26 more)

The apology 5

Folded hands U+1F64F. Hands pressed together. CLDR lists ask and beg. It takes skin tones. Emoji 0.6.
Grimacing face U+1F62C. Teeth showing. CLDR lists awkward. Emoji 1.0.
Grinning face with sweat U+1F605. A smile with a drop of sweat. CLDR lists nervous. Emoji 0.6.
Melting face U+1FAE0. A face melting away. CLDR lists embarrassed. Emoji 14.0. Emoji 14.0.
Person bowing U+1F647. A deep bow. CLDR lists apology and forgive. It takes skin tones. Emoji 0.6.

In plain text 3

Arrow, on the way U+2192 Rightwards arrow. A plain arrow for an ETA line: home → work.
Hourglass in plain text, filled U+29D7 Black hourglass. Not an emoji, so it keeps the colour of your words.
Hourglass in plain text, outline U+29D6 White hourglass. The same hourglass in outline.

Message lines 8

⏳ Almost there Round the corner, nearly
🏃 Be there in ___ Type the minutes over the blank
🏃 On my way Already out of the door
😴⏰ Overslept, coming The honest version
⏰ Running late, sorry The whole message in four words
🙏 Start without me For a meeting or a dinner
🚗 Stuck in traffic For the drive that went wrong
🚆 Train delayed For the line that let you down

Running late combos 10

Coffee first, then running Hot beverage, then person running.
Late and tired Face with bags under eyes, then alarm clock: both emoji CLDR files under late.
Missed the bus Bus, dashing away, weary face.
Nearly there Hourglass not done, then grinning face with sweat.
On my way, fast Person running, then dashing away.
Overslept Bed, alarm clock, face screaming in fear.
Running late Alarm clock, then person running.
Sorry, sorry Grimacing face, then folded hands.
Stuck at the lights Automobile, traffic light, weary face.
Too late, sorry Hourglass done, then person bowing.

How this list was compiled: Built by script on 2026-09-24, not typed by hand. The emoji, their names, code points, skin tones and Emoji version numbers come from emoji-test.txt, version 18.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/emoji/emoji-test.txt), in sentence case. The search words are from the CLDR English annotations (https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotations/en.xml and https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotationsDerived/en.xml, main branch): CLDR files exactly two emoji under late, Alarm clock and Face with bags under eyes; it files Person running under hurry and rush, and lists waiting for Alarm clock and Hourglass not done, awkward for Grimacing face and apology and forgive for Person bowing. The plain characters and their names are from https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt, emoji status from https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/emoji/emoji-data.txt and text forms from https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/emoji/emoji-variation-sequences.txt. The message lines and the combo names are this site's own work. Checked 2026-09-24. Licence: own work