过早 (guò zǎo) — premature; too early; happening before the prop… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used as an adjective (often with 地 before a verb) to mean 'premature / too early' — happening before the right time, with a negative judgment that it shouldn't have happened yet.

verb

prematuretoo earlyhappening before the proper time

Examples

过早。
Xiàn zài xuān bù bǐ sài jié guǒ guò zǎo le.
It's too early to announce the result of the competition now.
过早。
Tā yīn wèi jiàn kāng wèn tí guò zǎo de lí kāi le gōng zuò gǎng wèi.
He left his job prematurely due to health issues.
，过早。
Zhè xiē shuǐ guǒ hái méi shú, zhāi dé guò zǎo le.
These fruits aren't ripe yet; they were picked too early.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

"过" adds the idea of excess to "早", giving the sense of earlier than proper.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

咼

咼wāi過guò

Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

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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