早 meaning and stroke order
Early; morning; Good morning!
How to write 早, stroke by stroke
6 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Meaning of 早
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- early
- morning
- Good morning!
- long ago
- prematurely
How 早 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. The first rays 十 of the sun 日.
Radical: 日 (sun), shared by 116 characters on this site.
How to remember 早
Picture the sun 日 rising over the horizon and sending out its first rays 十 beneath it. When the sun's first rays appear, it is early morning, 早 (zǎo).
早 is used as an adjective for early, as a greeting, and in many morning words like 早上 (zǎoshang) and 早饭 (zǎofàn). On its own, 早 is a common casual way to say good morning. Example: 你今天来得很早。(Nǐ jīntiān lái de hěn zǎo.) You came very early today.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse 早 with 旱 (hàn, drought), which has 干 under the sun instead of 十. Check the bottom part: 早 has a simple cross 十 with no extra top stroke.
Common words with 早
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 早上 | zǎoshang | early morning | HSK 1 |
| 早饭 | zǎofàn | breakfast | HSK 1 |
| 早就 | zǎo jiù | already at an earlier time | HSK 2 |
| 早餐 | zǎocān | breakfast | HSK 2 |
| 早晨 | zǎochen | early morning; also pr. [zao3chen5] | HSK 2 |
| 早已 | zǎoyǐ | for a long time; long since; (dialect) in the past | HSK 3 |
| 早期 | zǎoqī | early period; early phase; early stage | HSK 5 |
| 早晚 | zǎowǎn | morning and evening; (in reference to sth that is bound to happen) sooner or later; one of | HSK 6 |
| 迟早 | chízǎo | sooner or later | HSK 7-9 |
| 一早 | yīzǎo | early in the morning; at dawn | HSK 7-9 |
| 一大早 | yīdàzǎo | at dawn; at first light | HSK 7-9 |
| 提早 | tízǎo | ahead of schedule; sooner than planned | HSK 7-9 |
| 早日 | zǎorì | soon; at an early date; the early days; the past | HSK 7-9 |
| 尽早 | jǐnzǎo | as early as possible | HSK 7-9 |
早 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 早
Learning 早 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 早
How many strokes are in 早?
早 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 早 mean?
早 (zǎo) means early; morning; Good morning!. A common word with it is 早上 (zǎoshang), meaning "early morning".
How do you pronounce 早?
早 is pronounced zǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 早?
The radical of 早 is 日, which carries the idea of "sun". Dictionaries list 早 under this radical.
Is 早 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 早 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
How do I say good morning in Chinese with 早?
You can say 早 (zǎo) alone, 早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo), or 早安 (zǎo'ān). 早 alone is the most casual and is common among friends and coworkers.
What is the difference between 早就 and 早已?
Both mean something happened long ago or already. 早就 (zǎo jiù) is more common in speech, as in 我早就知道了 (I knew it long ago). 早已 (zǎoyǐ) sounds more written and formal.