How to Say ‘It's getting late. I should be going.’ in Traditional Chinese
時間不早了，我先走了。
shí jiān bù zǎo le wǒ xiān zǒu le
[shíjiān bù zǎo le wo xiān zǒu le]
🇹🇼 In Taiwan: Guests usually give a reason like the hour before leaving, and hosts often protest once or twice. Leaving without some lead-in can feel abrupt.
Phrase Breakdown
時間不早了，
shí jiān bù zǎo le
It's getting late,
This gives the reason for leaving. Pause slightly after this part.
時間不早了，我們回家吧。
It's getting late, let's go home.
Words in this phrase
時間
shí jiān
[shíjiān]
time
A point or period of time.
開會時間是幾點？
What time is the meeting?
不
bù
[bù]
not
Used for negation.
這篇文章根本不含劍法招式的描述。
This article fundamentally does not include descriptions of sword skills.
早
zǎo
[zǎo]
early
Near the beginning of a time period; here, describing the time of day.
他今天很早起床。
He got up very early today.
了
le
[le]
change-of-state particle
With 快…了, shows something is about to happen.
火車快來了。
The train is about to arrive.
我先走了。
wǒ xiān zǒu le
I'll be going now.
This is a polite goodbye. Note the third tone on 我 and 走.
我有事，我先走了。
I have something to do, I'll go now.
Words in this phrase
我
wǒ
[wo]
I; me
The first-person pronoun used to talk about yourself.
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.
先
xiān
[xiān]
first; in advance
Indicates doing something before something else.
我先點餐。
I'll order first.
走
zǒu
[zǒu]
to leave; to go
To depart from a place.
時間不早了，我要走了。
It's late, I have to leave.
了
le
[le]
change-of-state particle
With 快…了, shows something is about to happen.
火車快來了。
The train is about to arrive.
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