早

Today’s first #kanji is #早, which is listed under the radical of #日. Originally 早 was a compound ideograph consisting of 日 and 甲, depicting the sun being above a person… I think it’s easier to remember “we say おはよ（早）うございます before 10 （十 at the bottom of 早）.”

Meaning: early

早朝（ソウチョウ）: early morning
早春（ソウシュン）: early spring
尚早（ショウソウ）（の）: premature, too early

早急（サッキュウ/ソウキュウ）（な）: urgent, pressing
早速（サッソク）: at once, immediately directly, right away

早（はや）い: early; premature
cf. 速（はや）い: quick, fast, swift, prompt
早番（はやバン）: (on) the first/early shift

<Difficult Reading>
早苗（さなえ）: rice sprouts; Sanae (a girl’s name)
早乙女（さおとめ）: a rice-planting girl; Saotome (a surname)
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