Better late than never means it is better to do something late than not to do it at all. The saying means exactly what its words say, so it is easy to remember. People use it when something was done late but was done in the end: replying to an email a month later or passing a driving test at forty. It's a conversational expression and isn't used in IELTS essays.
When would you say better late than never?
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Better late than never. (short comment); clause + but better late than never; it's better late than never
- Tom answered my email three weeks later, but better late than never.
- My mum started learning English at fifty-five, and she says it's better late than never.
- We got to the party after ten, but our friends laughed and said it was better late than never.
What changed
First versionThe parcel arrived a week after my birthday, but better late then never.
RevisionThe parcel arrived a week after my birthday, but better late than never.
Then means “at that time” or “next”, while a comparison needs than. The two words sound similar in speech, so they are easy to mix up in writing. A simple check: if you are comparing two things, write than.
Don't confuse it with better safe than sorry, which means it is wiser to take precautions: Take an umbrella: better safe than sorry. The two sayings start the same way, but the second advises being careful in advance, while the first is about something that has already been done, only late.
Your turn
I only started going to the gym at forty, but ___.
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better late than never — The person started going to the gym late, but they did start, which is exactly the meaning of better late than never. Better safe than sorry advises taking precautions against a risk, and there is no risk in this sentence.
Write about something you finally did very late. Say how late you were and end the sentence with better late than never.
I finally sent my aunt a thank-you card two months after her visit, but better late than never.
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