• 早起はやおき — waking up early
• 早口はやくち — fast talker / rapid speech
• 早番はやばん — early shift
• 早産そうざん — premature birth
• 早退そうたい — leave early
• 早速さっそく — immediately

The kanji “早” originally shows the image of a sun and a plant — representing the early morning. It is common in expressions related to time, speed, and urgency.

毎朝まいあさ、早はやく 起おきます。
I wake up early every morning.

早退そうたい した 理由りゆう を 説明せつめい しました。
I explained the reason why I left early.

The kun-yomi of this kanji is usually “hayai,” meaning “early” or “fast.” It’s common in words like hayaku (quickly), hayaban (early shift), or hayakuchi (fast speech). On-yomi readings like “sō” appear in compound words such as sōtai (leave early) or sassoku (immediately).