How do you say "early" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "early" is 早い (hayai). It is a adjective pronounced "hah-yah-ee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

早い is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as hayai, it sounds roughly like "hah-yah-ee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

彼女はいつも学校に早く来ます。

Kanojo wa itsumo gakkou ni hayaku kimasu.

She always arrives at school early.

Usage notes

Hayai (早い) means early when referring to time. It shares the same reading as hayai (速い, fast) but uses a different kanji. Context usually makes the intended meaning clear.

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Questions about 早い

How do you pronounce 早い?

早い is romanised as hayai. Say it roughly like "hah-yah-ee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 早い formal or casual?

早い is an i-adjective. The form shown is the plain form, which works in casual speech. To make it polite, add desu at the end of the sentence. The word itself does not change.

How is 早い written in Japanese?

早い is written using kanji and hiragana. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.