Polite adverbial phrase used when one does something before others, such as leaving, eating, or starting. Often used in set expressions like お先にどうぞ (please go ahead).
お先にどうぞ。
Please go ahead.
pardon me for leaving (before you)
Abbreviation of お先に失礼します, used as a set phrase when leaving work or a gathering before others. The full phrase is more common in formal settings.
See also: お先に失礼します
では、お先に。
Well then, pardon me for leaving before you.
I'll head home ahead of everyone else today.
Excuse me for leaving before you.
お先にいただきます、すみません。
Sorry, I'll go ahead and start eating first.
先に is the plain, everyday word for 'before/first', while お先に adds the honorific prefix お to sound politer, as when excusing oneself before others.
お先に means 'ahead/before (in order)', whereas 先程 means 'a little while ago (in time)'; learners sometimes confuse them because both start with 先.
Polite adverbial form of 先 (さき, 'ahead' or 'before') with the honorific prefix お and the particle に.