| 打早 | dǎ zǎo | earlier / long ago / as soon as possible |  |
| 提前 | tí qián | to shift to an earlier date / to do sth ahead of time / in advance |  |
| 早就 | zǎo jiù | already at an earlier time | |
| 早知道 | zǎo zhī dao | If I had known earlier... | |
| 提早 | tí zǎo | ahead of schedule / sooner than planned / to bring forward (to an earlier time) | |
| 早些 | zǎo xiē | a bit earlier | |
| 早知 | zǎo zhī | foresight / foreknowledge / if one had known earlier,... | |
| 继往开来 | jì wǎng kāi lái | to follow the past and herald the future (idiom) / part of a historical transition / forming a bridge between earlier and later stages | |
| 从 |  cóng | from / through / via / to follow / to obey / to engage in (an activity) / never (in negative sentence) / (Taiwan pr. [zong4]) retainer / assistant / auxiliary / subordinate / related by common paternal grandfather or earlier ancestor | |
| 承前启后 | chéng qián qǐ hòu | to follow the past and herald the future (idiom) / part of a historical transition / forming a bridge between earlier and later stages | |
| 补过 | bǔ guò | to make up for an earlier mistake / to make amends | |
| 相见恨晚 | xiāng jiàn hèn wǎn | to regret not having met earlier (idiom) / It is nice to meet you finally. / It feels like we have known each other all along. | |
| 承上起下 | chéng shàng qǐ xià | to follow the past and herald the future (idiom) / part of a historical transition / forming a bridge between earlier and later stages | |
| 失之东隅，收之桑榆 | shī zhī dōng yú , shōu zhī sāng yú | to lose at sunrise but gain at sunset (idiom) / to compensate later for one's earlier loss / what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts | |
| 稍早时 | shāo zǎo shí | a little earlier | |
| 不早于 | bù zǎo yú | no earlier than | |
| 最早于 | zuì zǎo yú | no earlier than | |
