Meet 早 in words about earliness and quick speech. The examples connect each reading to a useful everyday context.

The idea

早 has 6 strokes; follow their order in the linked diagram. Read 早い（はやい） and 早朝（そうちょう） as complete words, because a character’s pronunciation depends on the word.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
早いはやいI take an early train.
早朝そうちょうI take a walk early in the morning.
早くはやくI will go to bed early today.
早口はやくちMy younger brother speaks quickly.

Examples

  • 朝あさは早はやく起おきます。I get up early in the morning.
  • 早はやい電車でんしゃに乗のります。I take an early train.
  • 今日きょうは早はやく寝ねます。I will go to bed early today.
  • 早朝そうちょうに散歩さんぽします。I take a walk early in the morning.
  • 弟おとうとは早口はやくちで話はなします。My younger brother speaks quickly.
  • 明日あしたは早はやめに学校がっこうへ行いきます。Tomorrow I will go to school a little early.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

早い concerns being early; 速い concerns speed. In the set word 早口, however, 早 refers to speaking quickly. Compare the shape of 早 with 卓.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 早い in hiragana. 「早い電車でんしゃに乗のります。」

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    はやい

    早い is read はやい. In the example: I take an early train. Here it means “early”.

  2. Write the reading of 早朝 in hiragana. 「早朝に散歩さんぽします。」

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    そうちょう

    早朝 is read そうちょう. In the example: I take a walk early in the morning. Here it means “early morning”.

  3. Write the missing kanji: ＿い［早／卓］（はやい）.

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    早

    早 completes 早い, read はやい. In the example: I take an early train. Here it means “early”.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 早 from memory and read 早い and 早朝 aloud. Then check the readings against the examples.