早はやく

は

や

く

Common wordJLPTN5

Meanings

1

adverb, noun

early; soon

Only when written 早く

Used for something happening earlier than expected or before a deadline. Also used as a noun in expressions like 早くに.

明日あしたは早はやく起おきなければ

なら

ない

。

I have to get up early tomorrow.

早はやく帰かえってきてね。

Come home soon, okay?

2

adverb

quickly; fast; rapidly

Used for speed of action or movement. The kanji 速く is especially common for this sense.

彼かれは速はやく走はしれる。
He can run fast.
仕し事ごとを速はやく片かた付づけてください。
Please finish the work quickly.

Usage patterns

早はやく起おきるto get up early
明日あしたは早はやく起おきなければならない。
I have to get up early tomorrow.
早はやくしてくださいplease hurry up
早はやくしてください、遅おくれてしまいます。
Please hurry, or we'll be late.
早はやく寝ねるto go to bed early
疲つかれていたので早はやく寝ねた。
I was tired, so I went to bed early.
早はやく走はしるto run fast
彼かれはクラスで一いち番ばん早はやく走はしる。
He runs the fastest in the class.
〈場ば所しょ〉に早はやく着つくto arrive at a place early
駅えきに早はやく着ついたので少すこし待まった。
I arrived at the station early, so I waited a bit.
早はやく終おわらせるto finish something quickly
宿しゅく題だいを早はやく終おわらせて遊あそびに行いきたい。
I want to finish my homework quickly and go play.

Expressions· 9

早はやくからfrom early on; since early; early
早はやくてもat the earliest; at the soonest
一いっ刻こくも早はやくimmediately; as soon as possible; as quickly as possible
一いち日にちも早はやくas soon as possible; without further delay
早はやく言いえばin a word; to put it briefly; to make a long story short

Show 4 more

なるべく早はやくas soon as possible; as quickly as possible; ASAP
少すこしでも早はやくas soon as possible; even a little earlier
できるだけ早はやくas soon as possible
できる限かぎり早はやくas soon as possible; at the earliest time

Kanji

早early, fast
速quick, fast

Related words

早はやめに sense 1
早めに means 'a bit ahead of time' and suggests a deliberate margin of safety, while 早く simply states that something happens early.
すぐにN5sense 1
すぐに means 'right away/immediately' and stresses lack of delay, whereas 早く means 'early' relative to an expected time.
早はや々ばやN1
早く is the everyday adverb for 'early/quickly', while 早々 stresses acting ahead of schedule or without delay, often with eagerness.
急いそいで
急いで stresses haste or urgency, while 早く simply means 'quickly' or 'early' without necessarily implying rush.
とっとと
早く is a plain, common way to urge speed, whereas とっとと adds a rougher, more irritated nuance.

Opposites

遅おそく
早く means 'early/quickly' while 遅く means 'late/slowly', making them opposites for both timing and speed.
ゆっくりN5
早く means quickly or fast, the opposite of ゆっくり's slow, unhurried pace.

Word family

いち早はやく
promptly; quickly; without delay · before others; first; ahead of others
早はやくも
already; as early as · at the earliest; at the soonest
朝あさ早はやく
early in the morning
早はやくとも
at the earliest; at the soonest

Written forms

早はやくUsage94%
Standard kanji spelling for the adverbial form of 早い, used for 'early' and 'soon'.
はやくUsage6%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the intended kanji nuance is not important.
速はやく
Kanji spelling for the adverbial form of 速い, used for 'quickly' and 'fast'.

Etymology

Adverbial form of the adjective 早い/速い (はやい), from Old Japanese. The two kanji spellings distinguish 'early' (早) from 'fast' (速), though the kana form is common for both.