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How to Say ‘I have to go first.’ in Traditional Chinese

我要先走了。

wǒ yào xiān zǒu le

[wo yaow shyen zǒu le]

💬 Usage Tip: 先 (xiān) "first" plus 走 (zǒu) "go" means "leave before others". 了 at the end marks it as about to happen now.

🇹🇼 In Taiwan: Saying 先走 politely acknowledges that you're leaving before the others. It's the standard courteous way to exit.

Phrase Breakdown

我要

wǒ yào

I have to / I'm going to

我 (wǒ) means 'I'. 要 (yào) means 'will / need to'.

Example

我要回家。

I'm going home.

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

[yaow]

want; need; going to

Often means 'want to' or 'need to.' In ordering, it asks about your choice or preference.

Example

你要用燕麥奶的話，要多加十元。

If you want to use oat milk, it costs ten dollars extra.

先走了。

xiān zǒu le

leave first

先 (xiān) means 'first / before others'. 走了 (zǒu le) means 'to leave'. This is a polite way to excuse yourself.

Example

不好意思，我先走了。

Sorry, I'm heading out first.

Words in this phrase

先

xiān

[shyen]

first; in advance

Indicates doing something first, before another action. Useful in planning or polite requests.

Example

我先訂位，晚一點再確認人數。

I'll make the reservation first, then confirm the number of people later.

走

zǒu

[zǒu]

to leave; to go

Here means to leave or head off.

Example

時間晚了，我們走吧。

It's late, let's go.

了

[le]

change-of-state particle

With 快…了, shows something is about to happen.

Example

火車快來了。

The train is about to arrive.

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