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Expressing "as early as" using 早在 ("zao3zai4……")

Expressing "as early as" using 早在 ("zao3zai4……")

早在 zǎozài

Grammar

HSK 5

Structure

早在 + Time Period, situation

Translations

As early as

Definition

表示某事发生的时间比预期或通常的时间早很多，强调“早在某个时间点就已经……”。

Indicates that something happened much earlier than expected or usual, emphasizing that it already occurred at a certain early point in time.

Usage

“早在”后面通常跟具体的时间点（如年份、年代、时期等），然后接“就/已”等副词，表示动作或状态在很早以前已经发生或存在。常用于强调历史事件、成就或长期存在的状态。

“早在” is usually followed by a specific time point (like year, era, period, etc.), then adverbs like “就” or “已” to indicate that an action or state had already occurred or existed long ago. It is often used to emphasize historical events, achievements, or long-standing states.

Examples

1 早在两千多年前，中国人就开始使用指南针了。(As early as more than two thousand years ago, Chinese people began to use the compass.)
2 他早在几年前就拿到了博士学位。(He obtained his doctoral degree as early as several years ago.)
3 早在20世纪80年代，这个城市就已经开始发展旅游业。(As early as the 1980s, this city had already started developing tourism.)
4 这种技术早在古代就被发明了。(This technology was invented as early as ancient times.)
5 她早在小学时就已经展现了音乐天赋。(She had already shown musical talent as early as in elementary school.)

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