早い

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 朝が早い。▶ —
   Mornings are early.
2. 新幹線は速い。▶ —
   The Shinkansen is fast.

Collocations

Mnemonic

はやい — 早い・速い, Yamato. An i-adjective. Two kanji split across one sound ── 早い: early in time. 朝が早い (the morning is early), 早く起きる (get up early). 速い: fast in speed. 車が速い (the car is fast), 速く走る (run fast). Korean splits 'early' and 'fast' into two words; Japanese lays two kanji over the single sound hayai. Casual writing uses hiragana はやい to dodge the split; formal documents divide the kanji clearly. The Japanese cultural code '速い + 正確' (fast + precise) ── the 新幹線 shinkansen (the world's first high-speed rail, 1964) is the symbol of 速い, and with its 定刻運転 (on-time running, average delay under 30 seconds) it is also the symbol of 正確. The Korean readings jo / sok are sister to the onyomi そう / そく.

Quick check

1. Kanji used after "kuruma ga" for "fast"?

   • 速い (speed sense — "kuruma ga hayai")
   • 早い (early in time)
   • 高い (high)
   • 長い (long)