"Early" • Chinese-English Dictionary

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先 xiān early / prior / former / in advance / first
早 zǎo early / morning / Good morning! / long ago / prematurely
夙 sù morning / early / long-held / long-cherished
早期西里尔字母 zǎo qī xī lǐ ěr zì mǔ early
少年 shào nián early youth / youngster / (literary) youth / young man
先后 xiān hòu early or late / priority / in succession / one after another
早上 zǎo shang early morning / CL:個|个[ge4]
早期 zǎo qī early period / early phase / early stage
前期 qián qī preceding period / early stage
早在 zǎo zài as early as
早晨 zǎo chén early morning / CL:個|个[ge4] / also pr. [zao3 chen5]
凌晨 líng chén very early in the morning / in the wee hours
清晨 qīng chén early morning
小儿 xiǎo r (coll.) early childhood / baby boy
预警 yù jǐng warning / early warning
一早 yī zǎo early in the morning / at dawn
尽早 jǐn zǎo as early as possible
上古 shàng gǔ the distant past / ancient times / antiquity / early historical times
开局 kāi jú opening (chess etc) / early stage of game, match, work, activity etc
早年 zǎo nián early years / adolescence
早起 zǎo qǐ to get up early
甲骨文 jiǎ gǔ wén oracle script / oracle bone inscriptions (an early form of Chinese script)
下半身 xià bàn shēn lower half of one's body / Lower Body (Chinese poetry movement of the early 21st century)
早春 zǎo chūn early spring
教养 jiào yǎng to train / to educate / to bring up / to nurture / education / culture / upbringing / early conditioning
都督 dū dū (army) commander-in-chief (archaic) / provincial military governor and civil administrator during the early Republic of China era (1911-1949 AD)
初夏 chū xià early summer
初夜 chū yè early evening / wedding night / (fig.) first sexual encounter
诗经 Shī jīng Shijing, the Book of Songs, early collection of Chinese poems and one of the Five Classics of Confucianism 五經|五经[Wu3 jing1]
郑和 Zhèng Hé Zheng He (1371-1433), famous early Ming dynasty admiral and explorer
学前教育 xué qián jiào yù preschool education / early childhood education
早逝 zǎo shì early demise / untimely death
咱家 zá jiā I / me / my / (often used in early vernacular literature)
初年 chū nián early years
清明节 Qīng míng jié Qingming or Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day, celebration for the dead (in early April)
就 jiù at once / right away / only / just (emphasis) / as early as / already / as soon as / then / in that case / as many as / even if / to approach / to move towards / to undertake / to engage in / to suffer / subjected to / to accomplish / to take advantage of / to go with (of foods) / with regard to / concerning
近代史 jìn dài shǐ modern history (for China, from the Opium Wars until the fall of the Qing Dynasty, i.e. mid-19th to early 20th century)
预警系统 yù jǐng xì tǒng early warning system
初秋 chū qiū early autumn / 7th month of the lunar calendar
初冬 chū dōng early winter
晚清 wǎn Qīng the late Qing / late 19th and early 20th century China
左传 Zuǒ Zhuàn Zuo Zhuan or Tsochuan, Mr Zuo's Annals or Mr Zuo's commentary on 春秋[Chun1 qiu1], early history c. 400 BC attributed to famous blind historian Zuo Qiuming 左丘明[Zuo3 Qiu1 ming2]
早死 zǎo sǐ early demise / untimely death
早退 zǎo tuì to leave early (before the stipulated finishing time) / to retire early (from one's job)
捷足先登 jié zú xiān dēng the quick-footed climb up first (idiom) / the early bird catches the worm / first come, first served
襁褓 qiǎng bǎo swaddling clothes / fig. early stage of development / infancy
初创 chū chuàng startup (company, phase etc) / newly established / in the early stages
早稻 zǎo dào early season rice / rice at transplanting or still unripe
还 hái still / still in progress / still more / yet / even more / in addition / fairly / passably (good) / as early as / even / also / else
预警机 yù jǐng jī early warning aircraft system, e.g. US AWACS
预警机制  early warning mechanism
督军 dū jūn provincial military governor during the early Republic of China era (1911-1949 AD)
华灯初上 huá dēng chū shàng early evening when lanterns are first lit
反清 fǎn Qīng anti-Qing / refers to the revolutionary movements in late 19th and early 20th century leading up to 1911 Xinhai Revolution 辛亥革命[Xin1 hai4 Ge2 ming4]
稍早 shāo zǎo a little early
李大钊 Lǐ Dà zhāo Li Dazhao (1889-1927), early Chinese Marxist and founding member of the communist party
王世充 Wáng Shì chōng Wang Shichong (-621), general of late Sui and opponent of early Tang
提前退休 tí qián tuì xiū early retirement
不平等条约 bù píng děng tiáo yuē (term coined c. 1920s) unequal treaty &ndash / a treaty between China and one or more aggressor nations (including Russia, Japan and various Western powers) which imposed humiliating conditions on China (in the 19th and early 20th centuries)
王勃 Wáng Bó Wang Bo (650-676), one of the Four Great Poets of the Early Tang 初唐四傑|初唐四杰[Chu1 Tang2 Si4 jie2]
早班 zǎo bān early shift / morning work shift
早婚 zǎo hūn to marry too early
甲骨 jiǎ gǔ tortoise shell and animal bones used in divination / oracle bone inscriptions (an early form of Chinese script)
列子 Liè zǐ Lie Zi, Daoist author, said to be early Warring States period 戰國|战国[Zhan4 guo2] / Daoist text in eight chapters, said to be by Lie Zi, probably compiled during WeiJin times 魏晉|魏晋[Wei4 Jin4] (3rd century AD)
起早贪黑 qǐ zǎo tān hēi to be industrious, rising early and going to bed late
顾炎武 Gù Yán wǔ Gu Yanwu (1613-1682), late Ming and early Qing Confucian philosopher, linguist and historian, played a founding role in phonology of early Chinese, author of Rizhilu or Record of daily study 日知錄|日知录
旧唐书 Jiù Táng shū History of the Early Tang Dynasty, sixteenth of the 24 dynastic histories 二十四史[Er4 shi2 si4 Shi3], compiled under Liu Xu 劉昫|刘昫[Liu2 Xu4] in 945 during Later Jin 後晉|后晋[Hou4 Jin4] of the Five Dynasties, 200 scrolls
李渔 Lǐ Yú Li Yu (1611-c. 1680), late Ming and early Qing writer and dramatist
早秋 zǎo qiū early autumn
李四光 Lǐ Sì guāng Li Siguang (1889-1971), Mongol-born, Japanese-trained geologist, prominent in early PRC oil exploration
骆宾王 Luò Bīn wáng Luo Binwang (640-684), one of Four Great Poets of the Early Tang 初唐四傑|初唐四杰[Chu1 Tang2 Si4 jie2]
初叶 chū yè early part (of a decade, century etc) / the first years
笨鸟先飞 bèn niǎo xiān fēi lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom) / fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limited abilities
唐书 Táng shū same as 舊唐書|旧唐书[Jiu4 Tang2 shu1], History of the Early Tang Dynasty, sixteenth of the 24 dynastic histories 二十四史[Er4 shi2 si4 Shi3], compiled under Liu Xu 劉昫|刘昫[Liu2 Xu4] in 945 during Later Jin 後晉|后晋[Hou4 Jin4] of the Five Dynasties, 200 scrolls
苏美尔 Sū měi ěr Sumer (Šumer), one of the early civilizations of the Ancient Near East
欧阳询 Oū yáng Xún Ouyang Xun (557-641), one of Four Great Calligraphers of early Tang 唐初四大家[Tang2 chu1 Si4 Da4 jia1]
托洛茨基 Tuō luò cí jī Leon Davidovich Trotsky (1879-1940), early Bolshevik leader, exiled by Stalin in 1929 and murdered in 1940
虞世南 Yú Shì nán Yu Shinan (558-638), politician of Sui and early Tang periods, poet and calligrapher, one of Four Great Calligraphers of early Tang 唐初四大家[Tang2 chu1 Si4 Da4 jia1]
千金方 Qiān jīn fāng Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold, early Tang compendium of herbal medicine by Sun Simiao 孫思邈|孙思邈[Sun1 Si1 miao3]
曦 xī (literary) sunlight (usu. in early morning)
早出晚归 zǎo chū wǎn guī to leave early and return late (idiom)
一年之计在于春 yī nián zhī jì zài yú chūn the whole year must be planned for in the spring (idiom) / early planning is the key to success
大清早 dà qīng zǎo early in the morning
卢瑟福 Lú sè fú Rutherford (name) / Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), early nuclear physicist from New Zealand
月初 yuè chū start of month / early in the month
一清早 yī qīng zǎo early in the morning
提前投票 tí qián tóu piào early vote
早期效应 zǎo qī xiào yìng early effect
玄武门之变 Xuán wǔ mén zhī biàn Xuanwu gate coup of June 626 in early Tang, in which Li Shimin 李世民 / killed his brothers, seized the throne from his father as Emperor Taizong 唐太宗
姚滨 Yáo Bīn Yao Bin (1957-), PRC champion ice skater during early 1980s and more recently national skating coach
张旭 Zhāng Xù Zhang Xu (probably early 8th century), Tang dynasty poet and calligrapher, most famous for his grass script 草書|草书
元末明初 Yuán mò Míng chū late Yuan and early Ming / mid 14th century
先鞭 xiān biān to take precedence / to make an early start / to lead the way
公羊传 Gōng yáng Zhuàn Mr Gongyang's Annals or commentary on 春秋[Chun1 qiu1], early history, probably written by multiple authors during Han dynasty, same as 公羊春秋[Gong1 yang2 Chun1 qiu1]
公羊春秋 Gōng yáng Chūn qiū Mr Gongyang's Annals or commentary on 春秋[Chun1 qiu1], early history, probably written during Han dynasty, same as 公羊傳|公羊传[Gong1 yang2 Zhuan4]
刘昫 Liú Xù Liu Xu (887-946), politician in Later Jin of the Five Dynasties 後晉|后晋[Hou4 Jin4], compiled History of Early Tang Dynasty 舊唐書|旧唐书[Jiu4 Tang2 shu1]
十二时辰 shí èr shí chen twelve divisions of the day of early Chinese and Babylonian timekeeping and astronomy
千金要方 Qiān jīn Yào fāng Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold, early Tang compendium of herbal medicine by Sun Simiao 孫思邈|孙思邈[Sun1 Si1 miao3]
协商会议 xié shāng huì yì consultative conference (political venue during early communist rule) / consultative meeting / deliberative assembly
史籀篇 Shǐ zhòu piān Shizhoupian, early school primer in great seal script 大篆[da4 zhuan4], attributed to King Xuan of Zhou 周宣王[Zhou1 Xuan1 wang2] but probably dating from c. 500 BC
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