TraceHanzi

早餐 meaning in English

zǎocān

breakfast

HSK 2noun22 strokes

Meaning of 早餐

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

zǎocān
  1. breakfast

Measure word: 份,頓|顿,次

How to use 早餐

早餐 is a common noun for breakfast, often used with 吃 (chī, to eat). It sounds a little more formal or written than 早饭 (zǎofàn), and you will see it on hotel signs and menus. Example: 我七点吃早餐。(Wǒ qī diǎn chī zǎocān.) I eat breakfast at seven.

早 (zǎo) means early, and 餐 (cān) means a meal. The early meal of the day is breakfast.

Common mistake: Learners often write 餐 without the 食 part at the bottom or confuse it with 饭 (fàn), which has the side radical 饣 instead. Also keep 早 in the third tone, zǎo, not zào.

早餐 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ喜xǐ欢huān和hé你nǐ一yì起qǐ吃chī早zǎo餐cān。
I like having breakfast with you.
我wǒ穿chuān著zhù我wǒ的de睡shuì衣yī吃chī早zǎo餐cān。
I had breakfast in pajamas.
她tā常cháng常cháng在zài那nà儿ér吃chī早zǎo餐cān。
She often eats breakfast there.
你nǐ今jīn早zǎo有yǒu没méi有yǒu吃chī早zǎo餐cān？
Did you have breakfast this morning?
他tā经jīng常cháng在zài这zhè里lǐ吃chī早zǎo餐cān。
He always eats breakfast here.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

早 zǎo · early · 6 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

餐 cān · meal · 16 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16

Related words

Words that share a character with 早餐.

早上zǎoshangearly morning
早饭zǎofànbreakfast
早就zǎo jiùalready at an earlier time
晚餐wǎncānevening meal; dinner
早晨zǎochenearly morning; also pr. [zao3chen5]
午餐wǔcānlunch; luncheon
快餐kuàicānfast food; snack
中餐zhōngcānlunch; Chinese meal; Chinese food
西餐xīcānWestern-style food
早已zǎoyǐfor a long time; long since; (dialect) in the past
套餐tàocānset meal; (fig.) product or service package (e.g. for a cell phone subscription)
餐厅cāntīngdining hall; dining room

Questions about 早餐

What does 早餐 mean?

早餐 (zǎocān) means "breakfast" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 早餐?

早餐 is made of 2 characters: 早 (6 strokes), 餐 (16 strokes). That is 22 strokes in total.

Is 早餐 an HSK word?

Yes. 早餐 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 早餐 and 早饭?

Both mean breakfast. 早饭 is more casual and common in everyday speech, while 早餐 feels a bit more formal and is common in writing, restaurants and hotels.

How do I say lunch and dinner in the same pattern?

Swap the first character: 午餐 (wǔcān) is lunch and 晚餐 (wǎncān) is dinner. Together with 早餐, they form a set for the three daily meals.

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