N4 kanji · 6 strokes
早 means early
早
日 sun · 十 the horizon
早Memory trick
The sun (日) just above the horizon: early.
Memory trick: a picture to help you remember the kanji, not its history.
Meaning and readings
- Meanings
- early, fast
- JLPT level
- N4
- Strokes
- 6
- School grade
- Grade 1 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) はやい hayai
はやい (hayai) is the Japanese word for this kanji. You use it when the kanji stands alone or has kana after it. Dictionaries call this the kun reading.
Other Japanese readings: はや haya, はやまる hayamaru, はやめる hayameru
From Chinese (onyomi) ソウ sou
ソウ (sou) came from Chinese with the character. You mostly hear it in words made of several kanji. Dictionaries call this the on reading.
Tap a reading to see when it's used. Why kanji have two kinds of reading: onyomi vs kunyomi.
Common word
早い はやい · hayai
early, soon
Built from
Tap a part to see the N5 and N4 kanji that use it.
Quick check
What does 早 mean?
Right: 早 means early.Not quite: 早 means early.In 早い, which reading does 早 use?
Right. 早い is read はやい (hayai): 早 takes はや, its Japanese reading, with い after it.Not quite. 早い is read はやい (hayai): 早 takes はや, its Japanese reading, with い after it.