早い（はやい、hayai）
- early
Romaji:
Japanese:
Kana:
HAYA
早
はや
I
い
い
早い (はやい, romaji: hayai) means "early" in Japanese. It is a N5 Mid-level I-Adjective word.
| Meaning: | early |
| Level: | N5 Mid |
| Lexical Category: | I-Adjective (イ形容詞) |
Word Images
Related Kanjis
Adjective Conjugation
Basic Conjugation
Dict-form (辞書形) | はやい早い |
Polite-form (丁寧形) | 早いです。 |
Connect-form (連用形) | 早く + <Verb> |
Not-form (否定形) | 早くない |
Advanced Conjugation
Past-form (過去形) | 早かった |
Terminal-form (終止形) | 早い。 |
If-form (仮定形) | 早ければ |
Noun-form (名詞形) | 早さ |
AI Explanation
The Japanese word 早い (はやい) primarily means "early," "fast," or "quick." It can describe time, speed, or the pace of something. The specific meaning depends on the context. 早い is an adjective that changes form depending on the tense and context.
⚫︎ 朝ご飯を食べるのが早いですね。 Translation: You eat breakfast early, don't you? ⚫︎ あの車は早い。 Translation: That car is fast. ⚫︎ 今日は桜の開花が早い。 Translation: The cherry blossoms are blooming early today.
⚫︎ You can use 早い to talk about being on time or ahead of schedule. ⚫︎ It's also used to describe the speed of something, like a car or a runner. ⚫︎ Additionally, it can describe how quickly something happens or progresses. ⚫︎ When describing time, 早い generally means "early". For instance, 朝ご飯を食べるのが早い means "eat breakfast early". ⚫︎ When describing speed, 早い generally means "fast" or "quick". For instance, あの車は早い means "that car is fast".
⚫︎ This word is typically written using the kanji 早い (meaning "early" or "fast") and the hiragana reading is はやい. ⚫︎ There are no other common ways to write this word. ⚫︎ The okurigana (the suffix hiragana) is consistent: い.
⚫︎ 速い (はやい): fast, quick (usually speed-related) ⚫︎ 速やか（な） (すみやか（な）): prompt; speedy (formal) ⚫︎ 早い can sometimes be replaced by similar adjectives such as 速い or 手早い depending on the context. ⚫︎ 早い is typically used to express earliness, fast, or quickness, and it also can be interpreted as "soon." ⚫︎ 早い may be replaced by other words that express earliness. For instance, 早く着く ("to arrive early") can also be expressed as 早着する.
⚫︎ 遅い (おそい): late, slow ⚫︎ ゆっくり (ゆっくり): slowly ⚫︎ 遅い is the direct antonym for expressing lateness, or slowness, which is the opposite of the meaning of 早い
彼は早く学校に着いた。 ・Translation: He arrived at school early. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 早い's adverbial form, 早く, to indicate that someone arrived at a place earlier than expected.
マラソン選手は早い。 ・Translation: The marathon runner is fast. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 早い to describe the speed of the marathon runner.
The kanji 早 alone means "early" or "fast." The etymology of 早い is a combination of the kanji 早 and the adjective ending い.