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Expressing 'earliest' with 最早 (zuìzǎo)
Comparison
Sequence & Order
Structure
最早 + Verb/Time Expression
Explanation
最早 (zuìzǎo) means "earliest" and is the superlative form of 早 (early), formed by adding the superlative marker 最. It is used to indicate the first occurrence of something in time or the most ancient instance of something. You will often see 最早 in historical and factual contexts.
Examples
中国是世界上最早发明纸的国家。
Zhōngguó shì shìjiè shàng zuì zǎo fāmíng zhǐ de guójiā.
China is the earliest country in the world to have invented paper.
你最早什么时候能到？
Nǐ zuì zǎo shénme shíhòu néng dào?
What's the earliest you can arrive?
这是目前发现的最早的陶器。
Zhè shì mùqián fāxiàn de zuì zǎo de táoqì.
This is the earliest pottery discovered so far.