早早 (zǎo zǎo) — as early as possible; well in advance | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

早早 is an adverbial reduplication meaning 'very early / well in advance', used before verbs to stress doing something ahead of time. Unlike 早就, which marks an action completed long before a reference point, 早早 simply emphasizes earliness itself.

bound form

as early as possiblewell in advance

Examples

早早，。
Míng tiān yào zǎo zǎo qǐ chuáng, bié chí dào.
You need to get up really early tomorrow; don't be late.
早早。
Tā zǎo zǎo dì dào le jī chǎng děng wǒ men.
He arrived at the airport well in advance to wait for us.
早早。
Nǐ yīng gāi zǎo zǎo zuò hǎo zhǔn bèi.
You should prepare well in advance.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

“早” twice means as early as possible or well in advance.

Characters in this word

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.

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.

Appears in

Time (Abstract)

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