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How to Say ‘I need to finish my work first.’ in Traditional Chinese

我要先把事情做完。

wǒ yào xiān bǎ shì qíng zuò wán

[wo yào xiān bǎ shìqíng zuòwán]

🇹🇼 In Taiwan: Saying you need to wrap up work first is a completely normal reason to push back the time; in Taiwan, staying past official hours is common and coworkers understand.

Phrase Breakdown

我要先

wǒ yào xiān

I need to first

先 (xiān) means 'first'. Pause briefly after it.

Example

我要先洗澡。

I need to shower first.

Words in this phrase

我

wǒ

[wo]

I; me

The first-person pronoun used to talk about yourself.

Example

我想多了解你們公司的制度，所以先自我介紹。

I want to learn more about your company’s system, so I’ll introduce myself first.

要

yào

[yào]

need to; have to

Expresses necessity, asking whether something is required.

Example

要排隊嗎？

Do we need to line up?

先

xiān

[xiān]

first; in advance

Indicates doing something before something else.

Example

我先點餐。

I'll order first.

把事情做完。

bǎ shì qíng zuò wán

finish my work.

This 把 sentence means 'get the things done'. 做完 is said zuò-wán, with a falling tone and then a rising tone.

Example

他把事情做完了。

He finished his work.

Words in this phrase

把

bǎ

[bǎ]

(object marker)

Moves the object before the verb to show handling.

Example

請把門關上。

Please close the door.

事情

shì qíng

[shìqíng]

things; matters; tasks

Things to do or deal with

Example

今天事情很多。

There's a lot to do today.

做完

zuò wán

[zuòwán]

to finish doing

Do something until it is complete

Example

功課做完了嗎？

Is your homework finished?

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