جلدی
jaldī
The Urdu word for early is جلدی (jaldī).
جلدی is used to describe arriving or performing an action at a time before it was expected. While it is the standard way to say early, it is important to note that in many contexts, it can also be used to mean quick or fast.
Meaning: arriving at a time before expected (adj)
Which one should you use?
In many situations, جلدی can serve two different purposes: it can mean 'early' (ahead of time) or 'quickly' (at a high speed).
How does it change in a sentence?
The form جلدی functions as an adverb to describe an action happening early.
How do you pronounce it?
jaldī
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often try to distinguish between the adjective 'early' and the adverb 'early', but in common Urdu speech, جلدی is the standard way to express both 'early' and 'quickly'.
Did you know?
- When describing the 'early' morning, Urdu uses a different word سویرے (savēré), as جلدی is reserved for the act of arriving or doing something ahead of time.
- In many South Asian dialects, the suffix '-ī' in جلدی (jaldī) is a common way to turn a root into an adverbial form.
- If you want to tell someone to 'hurry up', you might use the same word جلدی (jaldī) that you would use to say someone arrived 'early'.
Examples in context
- وہ آج صبح جلدی اٹھا تھا۔He got up early this morning.This sentence shows the use of جلدی to describe waking up at an early hour.Tatoeba #1521800 by nabeel_tahir, translation #296575 by CK
- وہ صبح جلدی اٹھنے کا عادی ہے۔He's accustomed to getting up early in the morning.This sentence uses جلدی to describe the habit of waking up early.Tatoeba #1610820 by nabeel_tahir, translation #1021660 by CK
- تم اپنی بہن کی طرح صبح جلدی نہیں اٹھتے، ہے نا؟You don't get up as early as your sister, do you?This sentence uses جلدی to compare someone's habit of waking up early to another person.Tatoeba #1448548 by nabeel_tahir, translation #1396425 by CK
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Omar and Aisha are meeting for lunch.
- عمر Omarآپ یہاں بہت جلدی آگئیں۔Aap yahan bohat jaldi aagayein.You arrived here very early.
- عائشہ Ayeshaہاں، ٹریفک بہت کم تھا۔Haan, traffic bohat kam tha.Yes, there was very little traffic.
- عمر Omarکیا ہم اب اندر چلیں؟Kya hum ab andar chalein?Shall we go inside now?
- عائشہ Ayeshaجی، بالکل چلتے ہیں۔Ji, bilkul chalte hain.Yes, let's definitely go.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry جلدی, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
