zou2 teoi3早退
Jyutpingzou2 teoi3
Yalejóu teui
Definition
To leave early, especially before school or work finishes.
neutralworkschool
How it's used
This term carries a slightly formal or administrative tone, often appearing in school rules or workplace policies. While it describes the act of leaving before the scheduled time, it implies a breach of duty or a formal request for permission rather than just casually heading home.
Examples
He is not feeling well today, so he applied to leave early.
Why are you leaving early? It's not time yet.
Related words
Common phrases
to be late and leave early
to apply for early departure
Common mistake
Avoid using this for casual social situations, such as leaving a party or a friend's house early. For those contexts, use 走先 or 提早走 instead.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
