早退（そうたい、soutai）
- leave early

The Japanese word 早退 (そうたい) means "to leave early," "to go home early," or "to take an early departure" from work, school, or any other scheduled activity. It implies that a person is leaving before the designated end time for that activity. The implication is often due to illness, unforeseen circumstances, or other reasons that necessitate leaving earlier than planned.

⚫︎ 今日は体調が悪くて、早退］します。 Translation: I'm not feeling well today, so I'm going to leave early. ⚫︎ 熱があるので、学校を早退］させてください。 Translation: I have a fever, so please let me leave school early. ⚫︎ 会議の途中で、急用ができて早退］せざるを得ませんでした。 Translation: I had an urgent matter come up and had to leave the meeting early.

⚫︎ 早退 is used in formal and informal contexts. ⚫︎ When requesting to leave early from work or school, you typically use the polite form 早退させてください ("Please let me leave early"). ⚫︎ You often need to provide a reason when 早退, especially in formal situations. This is expressed with phrases like ～ので ("because of ~") or ～のため ("due to ~").

⚫︎ 早退 is written using the kanji 早 (sō/haya- meaning "early" or "fast") and 退 (tai- meaning "to withdraw," "to leave," or "to retire"). ⚫︎ The reading is usually そうたい (in hiragana). ⚫︎ There is no other way to write this word. ⚫︎ The okurigana is fixed.

There are no perfect direct synonyms, but phrases conveying a similar idea include: ⚫︎ 早引き (haya-biki): This term means to leave work or school early. However, it's a more casual term. ⚫︎ 欠席 (kesseki): Absence. While not the same as leaving early, it relates to not being present.

⚫︎ 遅刻 (chikoku): Being late. ⚫︎ 出勤 (shukkin): Going to work. ⚫︎ 登校 (tōkō): Going to school. ⚫︎ 居残る (izonoru) Stay behind.

風邪をひいたので、会社を早退］することにしました。 ・Translation: I caught a cold, so I decided to leave work early. ・Explanation: This sentence explains the reason (catching a cold) for leaving work early.

授業中に気分が悪くなり、早退］を先生に頼みました。 ・Translation: I felt sick during the class and asked the teacher if I could leave early. ・Explanation: This sentence demonstrates requesting to leave early from school due to not feeling well.

The word is a combination of two kanji. 早, meaning "early", and 退, meaning "to retreat" or "to leave". The combination directly reflects the meaning of leaving something before the usual time.