早
早 — Early
early, fast
On’yomiソウ (sou)
On’yomiサッ (sat)
Kun’yomiはやい (hayai)
Kun’yomiはや (haya)
Kun’yomiはや- (haya)
Kun’yomiはやまる (hayamaru)
Kun’yomiはやめる (hayameru)
Stroke order (6 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 早
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 早期 | そうき souki | early stage |
| 早急 | そうきゅう soukyuu | immediate; prompt; quick |
| 早朝 | そうちょう souchou | early morning |
| 早々 | そうそう sousou | as soon as ...; just after ...; immediately after ... |
| 早める | はやめる hayameru | to bring forward (e.g. by 3 hours); to advance; to hasten (e.g. one's death) |
| 時期尚早 | じきしょうそう jikishousou | premature |
Study notes
早 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 6 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #402 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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