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及早 (jí zǎo) — as soon as possible; at the earliest possible time

Definition

及早 (jízǎo) means 'as early as possible' — usually modifying an action one should take soon. Closer to 尽早; 尽快 emphasizes speed, 趁早 urges acting before trouble, and 早日 is more written/formal.

adverb
as soon as possibleat the earliest possible time

Examples

  • 及早，。
    Nǐ jí zǎo bǎ zuò yè zuò wán, jiù kě yǐ qù wán le.
    Finish your homework as soon as possible, then you can go play.
  • 及早。
    Zhè zhǒng bìng jí zǎo zhì liáo xiào guǒ gèng hǎo.
    Treating this disease as early as possible gives better results.
  • 及早，。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi jí zǎo cǎi qǔ cuò shī, bì miǎn wèn tí kuò dà.
    We should take measures as soon as possible to prevent the problem from escalating.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

及jíreach
早zǎoearly

及 means reach and 早 means early, together suggesting reaching an early time.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

及 pairs 人 (person) with 又 (hand), showing a hand grabbing a person.

Open 及 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
棗
棗zǎo早zǎo
Same sound today

The form 早 pairs 日 (sun) with 棗, which gives the sound; an earlier shape of 早 was a picture of an acorn.

Open 早 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Time (Abstract)

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