早い
hayai[ha̠ja̠i]
The Japanese word for early is 早い (hayai).
The adjective 早い is used to describe a state or a noun, such as an early train or the state of being early. To use the word as an adverb to modify an action, you use the form 早く.
Meaning: arriving at a time before expected (adj)
Which one should you use?
The adjective form 早い is used to describe nouns or a state, whereas the adverbial form 早く is used to modify an action.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the adjective into an adverb to modify an action, change the final vowel to 'ku', resulting in 早く. The past tense of the adjective 早い is 早かった, meaning 'was early'.
How do you pronounce it?
hayai
Did you know?
- When telling someone to 'hurry up' in Japanese, speakers use the adverbial form 早く, which literally translates to 'early'.
- While 早い means 'early' in terms of time, the word 速い is pronounced the same way but means 'fast' in terms of speed. They are interchangeable in speech but written with different characters.
- The word 早い appears in the very first written records of the Japanese language, appearing in the Kojiki as early as 712.
Examples in context
- 早いじゃん。You are early.This sentence shows how to say 'You are early' using 早い.Tatoeba #9112549 by bunbuku, translation #273992 by CK
- 朝は早いですよ。I'm an early riser.This sentence uses 早い to describe being an early riser in the morning.Tatoeba #10625543 by small_snow, translation #2205972 by freddy1
- 今朝は随分早いね。You're very early this morning.This sentence uses 早い to express that someone is very early this morning.Tatoeba #10257324 by bunbuku, translation #2713001 by CK
- 彼はいつも早く会社に来ます。He always comes to the office early.
- 会議を早めに始めましょう。Let's start the meeting early.
- 飛行機に乗るために少し早めに空港に行く必要があります。We need to go to the airport a little early to catch the flight.
- 彼はいつも早く来るよ。He always comes early.
- はよ起きて、朝ごはんを食べよう！Wake up early and let's have breakfast!
- 23 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hinari arrives at a meeting point before Kenta.
- 陽葵 Himari健太君、おはよう！Kenta-kun, ohayou!Good morning, Kenta!
- 健太 Kenta陽葵ちゃん、早いね。Hinari-chan, hayai ne.Hinari, you're early.
- 陽葵 Himari電車が早かったんだ。Densha ga hayakatta nda.The train was early.
- 健太 Kentaびっくりしたよ。Bikkuri shita yo.You surprised me.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “early” translations and entries 早い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 早い, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
