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趁早 (chèn zǎo) — as soon as possible; before it's too late (urging timely action to avoid trouble)

Definition

趁早 means 'as early as possible' and, unlike the neutral 尽快, carries a warning tone — do it now, before it gets worse. Often urges action to avoid trouble, whereas 趁机 means taking advantage of a moment for one's own benefit.

adverb
as soon as possiblebefore it's too late (urging timely action to avoid trouble)

Examples

  • 趁早，。
    Nǐ chèn zǎo gào sù tā, bié ràng tā dān xīn.
    Tell him as soon as possible — don't let him worry.
  • ，趁早。
    Wèn tí chū xiàn le, chèn zǎo jiě jué cái néng jiǎn shǎo sǔn shī.
    The problem has appeared; solve it as soon as possible to reduce losses.
  • ，趁早。
    Xiǎng kǎo shàng hǎo dà xué, jiù yào chèn zǎo kāi shǐ nǔ lì.
    If you want to get into a good university, you should start working hard as soon as possible.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

趁chèntake advantage of
早zǎoearly

趁 (take advantage of) and 早 (early) suggest acting while it is still early.

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
走走zǒuto run
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐱
㐱㐱趁chèn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

趁 is built from 走, 'to run', and 㐱, which gives the sound.

Open 趁 →

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 7-9Time (Abstract)

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