Chinese word

一早

Pronunciation

Pinyinyī zǎo

Meaning

  • adverbearly in the morning

Example

我一早起床去跑步。wǒ yì zǎo qǐ chuáng qù pǎo bù

I got up early in the morning to go running.

Illustration for 一早 (early in the morning)

More examples

他一早就到公司。tā yì zǎo jiù dào gōng sī

He got to the office early in the morning.

Core concept

An early-morning time marker that places an action near the start of the day.

Common phrases

  • 一早就到yì zǎo jiù dào

    arrive early in the morning

  • 一早开始工作yì zǎo kāi shǐ gōng zuò

    start work early in the morning

  • 一早赶路yì zǎo gǎn lù

    hurry on one's way early in the morning

Similar words

一大早yí dà zǎo: Very early that morning, marking an action as happening near the start of the day.
清早qīng zǎo: Very early in the morning, while it is still dim or just becoming light.

Definition in Chinese

表示当天一早就发生的动作或状态，作为时间副词常置于动词前，强调发生时间靠前biǎo shì dàng tiān yì zǎo jiù fā shēng de dòng zuò huò zhuàng tài zuò wéi shí jiān fù cí cháng zhì yú dòng cí qián qiáng diào fā shēng shí jiān kào qián

Word origin

一早 (yīzǎo, "early morning") combines 一 (yī, "one") + 早 (zǎo, "early") to suggest the first early part of the day.

Usage tips

  • For everyday conversation, placing this adverb before the verb makes the time frame clear, while English often places early after the verb in phrases such as arrive early.

Other meanings

  • earlyadverb

Opposites

  • 很晚hěn wǎnvery lateadverb
  • 晚wǎnlateadverb

Word lists with this word