Meaning of 早期
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- early period; early phase; early stage
How to use 早期
早期 describes the beginning stage of something long, such as a career, a disease, a dynasty, or a project. It often comes before a noun with or without 的. Example: 他早期的作品很有名。(Tā zǎoqī de zuòpǐn hěn yǒumíng.) His early works are very famous.
早 (zǎo) means early, like the sun 日 rising over the horizon in 早上 (zǎoshang). 期 (qī) means a period of time, the same 期 you see in 星期 (xīngqī) and 日期 (rìqī), so 早期 is simply the early period.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 早期 to mean early in the day or early for an appointment, but that needs 早上 (zǎoshang) or just 早 (zǎo). 早期 only refers to the early phase of a longer process or era.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
早 zǎo · early · 6 strokes
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期 qī · a period of time · 12 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 早期.
| 早上 | zǎoshang | early morning |
| 星期 | xīngqī | week; day of the week |
| 日期 | rìqī | date |
| 星期天 | xīngqītiān | Sunday |
| 早饭 | zǎofàn | breakfast |
| 星期日 | xīngqīrì | Sunday |
| 早就 | zǎo jiù | already at an earlier time |
| 早餐 | zǎocān | breakfast |
| 早晨 | zǎochen | early morning; also pr. [zao3chen5] |
| 假期 | jiàqī | holiday period; vacation |
| 学期 | xuéqī | term; semester |
| 早已 | zǎoyǐ | for a long time; long since; (dialect) in the past |
Questions about 早期
What does 早期 mean?
早期 (zǎoqī) means "early period; early phase; early stage" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 早期?
早期 is made of 2 characters: 早 (6 strokes), 期 (12 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 早期 an HSK word?
Yes. 早期 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the opposite of 早期?
The opposite is 晚期 (wǎnqī), the late period or late stage. The middle stage is 中期 (zhōngqī). These three often appear together when describing history or illness, such as 癌症晚期 (áizhèng wǎnqī), late-stage cancer.
What is the difference between 早期 and 初期?
Both mean an early stage and often overlap. 初期 (chūqī) stresses the very first part of a period, like 改革开放初期 (the start of the reform era), while 早期 is broader and common for careers, works, and medical stages, as in 早期发现 (early detection).