al rato

shortly after

al rato(ahl rrah-toh)

phrase

1. (general)

a. shortly after

Al rato, llegó el resto del grupo.

The rest of the group arrived shortly after.

b. shortly afterwards

Al rato Irene volvió a tropezarse con la misma persona en otra parte de la tienda.

Shortly afterwards Irene bumped into the same person on a different part of the store.

c. a while later

Al rato, Luis vino hacia mí y se disculpó.

Luis came to me and apologized a while later.

d. a short while later

El avión se escondió tras las nubes; al rato volvió a asomar.

The plane hid behind the clouds; a short while later it came into view again.

e. in a while

Al rato nos vemos, amigos.

I'll see you in a while, folks.

f. soon after

Al rato de entrar en la sala de conciertos, empecé a notar mucho calor.

Soon after I got into the concert hall, I began to feel really hot.