早 zǎo early
early; morning; good morning
How to remember 早: 日 sun + 十 ten = early. The sun is barely up, but at ten past five the baker is already kneading dough, every single morning this early.
Component breakdown
早 = 日 sun + 十 ten
- 日 sun
- 十 ten
The sun is barely up, but at ten past five the baker is already kneading dough, every single morning this early.
How it came to be
The sun sitting on top of a helmet seen from above. The sun has only just cleared the head of whoever is wearing it. The helmet wore down to the ten under the sun.
How it is used
- 'Early / morning' - 早上 (zǎoshang) in the morning, 早饭 (zǎofàn) breakfast; 早 alone is a casual 'morning!' greeting.
- As 'early' it's the opposite of 晚 (wǎn): 来早了 (lái zǎo le) came early - 来晚了 (lái wǎn le) came late.
- 早已 (zǎoyǐ) means 'long since / already long ago' - stronger than plain 已经.
Characters built with 早
Words with 早
- 早上zǎoshang(early) morningHSK 1
- 早饭zǎofànbreakfastHSK 1
- 早晨zǎochenearly morningHSK 4
- 早餐zǎocānbreakfastHSK 4
- 早已zǎoyǐfor a long timeHSK 5
- 早晚zǎowǎnmorning and eveningHSK 5
- 早期zǎoqīearly periodHSK 5
- 一早yìzǎoearly in the morningHSK 7
- 及早jízǎoat the earliest possible timeHSK 7
- 尽早jǐnzǎoas early as possibleHSK 7
- 早年zǎoniánmany years agoHSK 7
- 早日zǎorìsoonHSK 7
- 迟早chízǎosooner or laterHSK 7
- 趁早chènzǎoas soon as possibleHSK 9
Example sentences
- 今天早上天气不错。 Jīntiān zǎoshang tiānqì búcuò.It's sunny this morning.
- 她在吃早餐。 Tā zài chī zǎocān.She's eating her breakfast.
- 今天的早餐是烤面包。 Jīntiān de zǎocān shì kǎomiànbāo.Today's breakfast is toast.