早

早	U+65E9, 早 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-65E9

← 旨
[U+65E8]

CJK Unified Ideographs

旪 →
[U+65EA]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

早 (Kangxi radical 72, 日+2, 6 strokes, cangjie input 日十 (AJ), four-corner 6040₀, composition ⿱日十)

Derived characters

草章覃

References

KangXi: page 489, character 12

Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 13742

Dae Jaweon: page 850, character 9

Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1483, character 6

Unihan data for U+65E9

Chinese

simp. and trad.		早

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 早
Warring States			Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (早) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
早	*ʔsuːʔ
草	*sʰuːʔ
愺	*sʰuːʔ
騲	*sʰuːʔ
皁	*zuːʔ
皂	*zuːʔ

Early bronze inscriptions: Pictogram (象形) – acorn. Original form of 皂 (OC *zuːʔ) (once also written as 草). Borrowed for "morning" sense.

Late bronze inscriptions: Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ʔsuːʔ) : semantic 日 (“sun”) + phonetic 棗 (OC *ʔsuːʔ), with 棗 sometimes simplified as 朿.

Small seal script: Ideogrammic compound (會意) : 日 (“sun”) + 甲 (“first”) – when the sun first rises.

In some ancient texts, 蚤 (OC *ʔsuːʔ) was often used instead.

Etymology

Possible cognate found in Proto-Hmong-Mien *ntsi̯ouˣ (“early”), whence White Hmong ntxov and Iu Mien nziou (Baxter and Sagart, 2014; Schuessler, 2007), and Proto-Tai *ɟaːwꟲ (“early morning”), whence Thai เช้า (cháao) and Lü ᦋᧁᧉ (tsaw²).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): zǎo, zóu (zao³, zou²)
(Zhuyin): ㄗㄠˇ, ㄗㄡˊ
(Chengdu, SP): zao³
(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): зо (zo, II)
Cantonese (Jyutping): zou²
Gan (Wiktionary): zau³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): chó
(Meixian, Guangdong): zau³
Jin (Wiktionary): zau²
Min Bei (KCR): cǎu
Min Dong (BUC): cā / cō̤
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): chá / chái / chó͘ / chó
(Teochew, Peng'im): za²
Wu (Wiktionary): tsau (T2)
Xiang (Wiktionary): zau³

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zǎo
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄠˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zǎo
  - Wade–Giles: tsao³
  - Yale: dzǎu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzao
  - Palladius: цзао (czao)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɑʊ̯²¹⁴/
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zóu
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄡˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zóu
  - Wade–Giles: tsou²
  - Yale: dzóu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzour
  - Palladius: цзоу (czou)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡soʊ̯³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: zao³
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: zao
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sau⁵³/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: зо (zo, II)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɔ⁵¹/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: zou²
  - Yale: jóu
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzou²
  - Guangdong Romanization: zou²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sou̯³⁵/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: zau³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sau²¹³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chó
  - Hakka Romanization System: zo`
  - Hagfa Pinyim: zo³
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡so³¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: zau³
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sau³¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: zau²
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sau⁵³/
Min Bei
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: cǎu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sau²¹/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: cā / cō̤
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sa³³/, /t͡so³³/

Note:

cā - vernacular;
cō̤ - literary.

Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chá
  - Tâi-lô: tsá
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zar
  - IPA (Taipei, Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /t͡sa⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sa⁴¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sa⁵⁵⁴/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chái
  - Tâi-lô: tsái
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zae
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sai⁵⁵⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sai⁴¹/
  - IPA (Taipei, Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /t͡sai⁵³/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chó͘
  - Tâi-lô: tsóo
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zor
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sɔ⁵⁵⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chó
  - Tâi-lô: tsó
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zoir
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /t͡so⁵³/

Note:

chá - vernacular;
chái - vernacular (for certain words);
chó͘/chó - literary.

- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: za²
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsá
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sa⁵²/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: tsau (T2)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɔ³⁴/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: zau³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɒu⁴¹/

Middle Chinese: /t͡sɑu^X/

Rime
Character	早
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	豪 (89)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	子晧切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sɑu^X/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sɑu^X/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sɑu^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡saw^X/
Li Rong	/t͡sɑu^X/
Wang Li	/t͡sɑu^X/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡sɑu^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zǎo
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zou²

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*Nə.tsˤuʔ/
(Zhengzhang): /*ʔsuːʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	早
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zǎo
Middle Chinese	‹ tsaw^X ›
Old Chinese	/*Nə.tsˁuʔ/
English	early
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	早
Reading #	1/1
No.	16546
Phonetic component	早
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	早
Old Chinese	/*ʔsuːʔ/

Definitions

早

early; in advance; soon
我醒得很早。 ― Wǒ xǐng dé hěn zǎo. ― I woke up early.
你能不能早一點來？ [MSC, trad.]
你能不能早一点来？ [MSC, simp.]
Nǐ néng bù néng zǎo yīdiǎn lái? [Pinyin]
Can you be here a little earlier?
請問，我今天早走一會兒行嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
请问，我今天早走一会儿行吗？ [MSC, simp.]
Qǐngwèn, wǒ jīntiān zǎo zǒu yīhuìr xíng ma? [Pinyin]
Please could I leave early today?
Antonym: 遲／迟 (chí)
long ago; for a long time
他早走了。 ― Tā zǎo zǒu le. ― He left long ago.
這個變壓器已經燒毀了，早該拆換一個新的了。 [MSC, trad.]
这个变压器已经烧毁了，早该拆换一个新的了。 [MSC, simp.]
Zhè ge biànyāqì yǐjīng shāo huǐ le, zǎo gāi chāi huàn yī ge xīn de le. [Pinyin]
This transformer has burnt out. It should have been replaced a long time ago.
(early) morning
我今早沒有見到他。 [MSC, trad.]
我今早没有见到他。 [MSC, simp.]
Wǒ jīn zǎo méi yǒu jiàndào tā. [Pinyin]
I didn't see him this morning.
good morning
老師早！／老师早！ ― Lǎoshī zǎo! ― Good morning, teacher!
Synonym: 早安 (zǎo'ān)
before; in the past time
現在這麼匆忙，你早幹嗎去了。 [MSC, trad.]
现在这么匆忙，你早干吗去了。 [MSC, simp.]
Xiànzài zhème cōngmáng, nǐ zǎo gànmá qù le. [Pinyin]
So now you are in a hurry. What were you doing before?
(Taiwan, informal) Short for 早上 (zǎoshang).; a.m.
早八 ― zǎo bā ― 8:00 a.m.
(Hainanese) breakfast
a surname

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 早 (“early”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		早
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		早
Mandarin	Beijing	早
	Taiwan	早
	Jinan	早
	Xi'an	早
	Wuhan	早
	Chengdu	早
	Yangzhou	早
	Hefei	早
Cantonese	Guangzhou	早
	Hong Kong	早
	Yangjiang	早
Gan	Nanchang	早
Hakka	Meixian	早
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	早
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	早
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	早
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	早
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	早
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	早
Jin	Taiyuan	早
Min Bei	Jian'ou	早
Min Dong	Fuzhou	早
Min Nan	Xiamen	早
Min Nan	Chaozhou	早
Wu	Shanghai	早
	Suzhou	早
	Wenzhou	早
Xiang	Changsha	早
Xiang	Shuangfeng	早

Dialectal synonyms of 早安 (“good morning”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		早安, 早上好
Mandarin	Taiwan	早安, 早
	Liuzhou	早晨
	Malaysia	早安
	Singapore	早安, 早
Cantonese	Guangzhou	早晨
	Hong Kong	早晨
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	早晨
	Macau	早晨
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	早晨
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	早晨
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	早晨
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	早晨
	Foshan	早晨
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	早晨
	Foshan (Shunde)	早晨
	Foshan (Sanshui)	早晨
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	早晨
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	早晨
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	早晨
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	早晨
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	早晨
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	早晨
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	早晨
	Taishan	早晨
	Kaiping (Chikan)	早晨
	Enping (Niujiang)	早晨
	Heshan (Yayao)	早晨
	Dongguan	早晨
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	早晨
	Nanning	早晨
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	早晨
	Penang (Guangfu)	早晨
	Singapore (Guangfu)	早晨
Hakka	Meixian	恁早
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	早晨
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	早晨
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	早晨
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	早晨
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	恁早, 恁會早, 恁早萋
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	恁早
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	恁早, 恁會早, 恁早萋
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	恁早, 恁早萋
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	恁早, 恁早萋
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	𠢕早, 堅早
	Sabah (Bao'an)	早晨
Min Dong	Fuzhou	早頭好
	Matsu	早安
	Singapore (Fuqing)	早頭好
Min Nan	Xiamen	𠢕早
	Quanzhou	𠢕早
	Zhangzhou	𠢕早
	Taipei	𠢕早
	Singapore (Hokkien)	𠢕早
	Manila (Hokkien)	好早起
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	早安
	Shantou	早安
	Singapore (Teochew)	𠢕早
	Wenchang	早上好
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	早晨
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	早晨
Wu	Shanghai	儂早, 早, 早浪好
Xiang	Quanzhou	早安

Dialectal synonyms of 早餐 (“breakfast”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		早飯, 早餐
Mandarin	Beijing	早飯, 早點
	Taiwan	早飯, 早餐, 早點
	Tianjin	點心
	Ulanhot	早上飯
	Tongliao	早上飯
	Chifeng	早飯
	Bayanhot	早飯
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	早上飯
	Harbin	早上飯, 早飯
	Shenyang	早飯
	Yantai (Muping)	朝飯兒, 早飯
	Jinan	早飯, 早晨飯, 早點
	Luoyang	清早飯
	Wanrong	早起飯
	Zhengzhou	清早起來飯
	Xi'an	乾早飯, 早飯
	Yinchuan	早飯
	Lanzhou	早飯
	Xining	早起
	Ürümqi	乾早飯, 早飯
	Wuhan	早飯
	Huanggang	早飯
	Chengdu	早飯, 早餐
	Guiyang	早飯
	Kunming	早飯
	Guilin	早飯, 早點
	Liuzhou	早餐, 早飯, 早點
	Xuzhou	早點, 早上飯, 早飯
	Yangzhou	早飯
	Nanjing	早飯, 點心
	Hefei	早飯
	Nantong	早飯
	Malaysia	早餐
	Singapore	早餐
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	趕早飯
Cantonese	Guangzhou	早餐, 朝早飯, 朝
	Hong Kong	早餐
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	早飯
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	早飯
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	早飯
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	早飯, 朝頭
	Macau	早餐
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	早餐
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	早飯
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	早餐
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	早飯, 早餐
	Foshan	早餐
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	粥
	Foshan (Shunde)	早餐
	Foshan (Sanshui)	朝早飯
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	早飯
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	早餐
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	早餐
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	早餐
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	朝早飯
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	朝早飯
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	早餐
	Taishan	早餐
	Kaiping (Chikan)	早餐
	Enping (Niujiang)	早餐
	Heshan (Yayao)	早飯
	Dongguan	早餐
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	早餐
	Shaoguan	早餐
	Yunfu	早餐
	Yangjiang	朝
	Xinyi	朝
	Lianjiang	朝
	Nanning	過早
	Wuzhou	過早
	Yulin	早朝
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	早朝
	Danzhou	早朝
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	早餐
	Singapore (Guangfu)	早餐
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	早餐
Gan	Nanchang	早飯
	Lichuan	早飯
	Pingxiang	早飯
Hakka	Meixian	朝
	Xingning	朝
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	朝, 早餐
	Huizhou (Shuikou Bendihua)	朝
	Huizhou (Hengli Bendihua)	朝
	Huidong (Pingshan Bendihua)	朝
	Huidong (Daling)	朝
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	朝
	Longmen (Pingling Bendihua)	早餐, 朝
	Longmen (Luxi Bendihua)	朝
	Boluo (Bendihua)	早餐
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	朝
	Zengcheng (Zhengguo)	朝
	Zhongshan (Wuguishan)	朝, 早餐
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	早餐
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	朝
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	朝
	Wuhua (Changbu)	朝
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	朝
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	朝
	Zijin (Guzhu Bendihua)	朝
	Longchuan (Tuocheng Bendihua)	朝
	Longchuan (Sidu Bendihua)	朝
	Heping (Linzhai Bendihua)	朝
	Lianping (Zhongxin Bendihua)	朝
	Lianping (Longjie Bendihua)	朝
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	朝
	Xinfeng (Matou Bendihua)	朝
	Xinfeng (Daxi Bendihua)	朝
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	朝
	Liannan	朝
	Conghua (Lütian)	朝
	Jiexi	朝
	Changting	朝
	Wuping	朝
	Wuping (Pingyu)	朝
	Liancheng	天光
	Ninghua	朝飯
	Yudu	晨朝
	Ruijin	朝
	Shicheng	朝飯
	Shangyou (Shexi)	早晨
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	朝
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	朝
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	朝
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	朝
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	朝
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	早頓, 早, 晨早
	Hong Kong	朝, 朝飯
	Luchuan	朝
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	朝, 早點
	Sabah (Longchuan)	早餐
	Senai (Huiyang)	朝, 早餐
	Singkawang	朝
Huizhou	Jixi	早飯
	Shexian	早飯
	Tunxi	天光
	Xiuning	天光
	Yixian	天光
	Qimen	點心
	Wuyuan	朝飯, 朝粥
Jin	Taiyuan	早清飯, 清早飯, 打早飯
	Pingyao	早起飯, 早晨飯
	Xinzhou	打早飯, 早起飯, 早升飯
	Taibus (Baochang)	早飯
	Linhe	早飯
	Jining	早飯
	Hohhot	早飯
	Baotou	早飯
	Dongsheng	早飯
	Haibowan	早點
Min Bei	Jian'ou	早
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	早
	Songxi	飯
	Zhenghe (Zhenqian)	飯
	Wuyishan	朝
	Pucheng (Shibei)	朝
Min Dong	Fuzhou	早
	Fuqing	飯, 早
	Zhouning	飯
Min Nan	Xiamen	早頓, 早起頓, 早起
	Quanzhou	早頓, 早起頓, 早起
	Yongchun	早起
	Zhangzhou	早頓, 早起頓, 早起
	Singapore (Hokkien)	早起頓, 早起, 早餐, 早頓
	Manila (Hokkien)	早餐, 早起
	Zhangping	飯
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	飯
	Chaozhou	眠起, 早餐
	Shantou	猛早頓, 猛早, 早飯, 早糜
	Haifeng	眠早
	Bangkok (Teochew)	早餐, 早頓
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	早餐
	Singapore (Teochew)	早餐
	Leizhou	早糜, 早
	Wenchang	糜旦, 天光糜, 早
	Haikou	天光糜, 天光, 天光早糜, 天光早, 天光白糜, 天光白
	Qionghai	早糜, 早餐
	Singapore (Hainanese)	早餐
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	早餐
Zhongshan Min	Sanxiang	早餐
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	過早, 朝飯, 點心
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	早飯
Wu	Shanghai	早飯
	Shanghai (Chongming)	飯
	Suzhou	早飯
	Wuxi	早飯, 早點
	Danyang	早飯
	Hangzhou	早飯
	Ningbo	天亮飯
	Wenzhou	天光
	Jinhua	五更兒飯, 五更飯, 五更兒
	Jinhua (Tangxi)	五更
Xiang	Changsha	早飯
	Loudi	早飯
	Shuangfeng	早飯, 晨飯
	Quanzhou	早飯

Compounds

Derived terms from 早

一大早 (yīdàzǎo)
一早 (yīzǎo)
一早起
一早起了
一黑早
不早 (bùzǎo)
不早不晚
侵早
冗早 (liōng-chá) (Min Nan)
半早
又早
及早 (jízǎo)
古早 (gǔzǎo)
可早
多早晚 (duōzaowǎn)
大早
大清早 (dàqīngzǎo)
大清早上
大清早起
好早晚
打早 (dǎzǎo)
拜早年 (bàizǎonián)
提早 (tízǎo)
早上 (zǎoshang)
早先 (zǎoxiān)
早名必折
早夭 (zǎoyāo)
早婚 (zǎohūn)
早安 (zǎo'ān)
早尖
早就 (zǎojiù)
早已 (zǎoyǐ)
早年 (zǎonián)
早慧 (zǎohuì)

早操 (zǎocāo)
早日 (zǎorì)
早早 (zǎozǎo)
早春 (zǎochūn)
早是
早晌
早晚 (zǎowǎn)
早晨 (zǎochen)
早朝 (zǎozhāo)
早期 (zǎoqī)
早材
早死 (zǎosǐ)
早熟 (zǎoshú)
早班 (zǎobān)
早稻 (zǎodào)
早膳
早茶 (zǎochá)
早衙
早衰 (zǎoshuāi)
早起 (zǎoqǐ)
早迷晚寤
早退 (zǎotuì)
早逝 (zǎoshì)
早霜
早霞 (zǎoxiá)
早餐 (zǎocān)
明早 (míngzǎo)
次早 (cìzǎo)
清早 (qīngzǎo)
老早 (lǎozǎo)
起早 (qǐzǎo)
趁早 (chènzǎo)
透早 (thàu-chá)
黑早

𠢕早 (gâu-chá)
儘早／尽早 (jǐnzǎo)
即早兒／即早儿
屍骨早寒／尸骨早寒
早來／早来 (zǎolái)
早出晚歸／早出晚归 (zǎochūwǎnguī)
早則／早则
早占勿藥／早占勿药
早參／早参
早報／早报 (zǎobào)
早場／早场
早熟兒童／早熟儿童
早生貴子／早生贵子 (zǎoshēngguìzǐ)
早產／早产 (zǎochǎn)
早產兒／早产儿 (zǎochǎn'ér)
早課／早课
早賜玉音／早赐玉音
早遲／早迟
早難道／早难道
早頓／早顿 (chá-tǹg)
早飯／早饭 (zǎofàn)
早餐會／早餐会
早點／早点 (zǎo diǎn)
早點兒／早点儿 (zǎo diǎnr)
早齋／早斋 (chá-chai) (Min Nan)
絕早／绝早 (juézǎo)
言之過早／言之过早 (yánzhīguòzǎo)
起早貪黑／起早贪黑 (qǐzǎotānhēi)
趕早／赶早 (gǎnzǎo)
這早晚／这早晚 (zhè zǎowǎn)
遛早兒／遛早儿
遲早／迟早 (chízǎo)
遲行早住／迟行早住
還早／还早

References

“早”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
“Entry #2446”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.

Japanese

Kanji

早

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

Go-on: そう (sō, Jōyō)
Kan-on: そう (sō, Jōyō)
Kan’yō-on: さっ (sa', Jōyō ^†)
Kun: はやい (hayai, 早い, Jōyō); はやまる (hayamaru, 早まる, Jōyō); はやめる (hayameru, 早める, Jōyō); さ (sa, 早)

Compounds

足(あし)早(ばや) (ashibaya): briskness, swift-footedness, fast-pacedness

Kanji in this term
早
はや Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Pronunciation

Kun’yomi

(Tokyo) はや [háꜜyà] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
IPA^(key): [ha̠ja̠]

Noun

早(はや) • (haya)

already, now
はや数日(すうじつ)
haya-sūjitsu
(please add an English translation of this example)

References

2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 早 (MC t͡sɑu^X). Recorded as Middle Korean 조〯 (cwǒ) (Yale: cwo) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Wikisource早 (eumhun 일찍 조 (iljjik jo))

Hanja form^? of 조 (“early”).

Compounds

조기 (早期, jogi)
조속 (早速, josok)
조숙 (早熟, josuk)
조조 (早朝, jojo)
조퇴 (早退, jotoe)
조만간 (早晩間, joman'gan)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Vietnamese

Han character

早: Hán Việt readings: tảo (子(tử)皓(hạo)切(thiết))[1][2][3][4][5]
早: Nôm readings: tảo[2][4][6], chảo[1], tảu

chữ Hán form of tảo (“early; in advance”).
chữ Hán form of tảo (“morning”).

Compounds

早禾 (tảo hòa/tảo hoà)
早來 (tảo lai)
早時 (tảo thì)
早晚 (tảo vãn)
太早 (thái tảo)
早婚 (tảo hôn)

References

Nguyễn (2014).
Nguyễn et al. (2009).
Trần (2004).
Bonet (1899).
Génibrel (1898).
Taberd & Pigneau de Béhaine (1838).

[DJR-1] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[tdcndg-2] Nguyễn (2014).

[tdcntd-3] Nguyễn et al. (2009).

[gdhn-4] Trần (2004).

[bonet-5] Bonet (1899).

[genibrel-6] Génibrel (1898).

[taberd-7] Taberd & Pigneau de Béhaine (1838).