Learn English – Difference between ‘later’ and ‘later on’

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Is there any difference between the usage of 'later' and 'later on'?

  • I'll see you later.
  • I'll finish it later on.

Best Answer

I would say the addition of the word “on” is more or less superfluous in almost every case. In other words, I believe later can always be substituted for later on, but not the other way around. When in doubt, later is the safe word to use.

For example,

We will have lunch now, and later on(or later) we will go to the park.

Where you can’t use later on:

I arrived later than she did.

See you later.

Later can be a way of saying goodbye, as a short form of “see you later”, but you can’t use “later on” in this way. Later and later on can both be thought of as short terms for “later on in time”.

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