Use erken for early timing and önceden when something is done beforehand.

The idea

Erken describes an action as early relative to a time or expectation: İşe erken geldim means I arrived at work early. Önceden means beforehand or in advance: Masayı önceden ayırttık means we reserved the table in advance. An action can be both early and arranged beforehand, depending on context.

Examples

  • Bugün işe erken geldim.I arrived at work early today.
  • Masayı önceden ayırttık.We reserved the table in advance.
  • Yarın erken kalkacağım.I will get up early tomorrow.
  • Biletleri önceden aldım.I bought the tickets in advance.
  • Toplantı bugün erken başladı.The meeting started early today.
  • Önceden haber verin.Please let me know in advance.

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Watch out

Do not assume the words are strict opposites or always interchangeable: arriving early and making a reservation in advance focus on different timing relationships.

Try it yourself

  1. Planlanan saatten önce, yani ___ geldim. (erken / geç)

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    erken

    erken: arriving before the planned time is arriving early; geç means late.

  2. Seyahatten sonra değil, ___ bilet aldık. (önceden / sonradan)

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    önceden

    önceden: buying the tickets before the trip is doing so in advance; sonradan means afterwards.

  3. O erken ___. (geldi / geldim)

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    geldi

    geldi: the third-person past form agrees with o, not first-person geldim.

Use it today

Say that you arrived early, then describe something you arranged in advance.