早安 (zǎo ān) — Good morning! | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal or written greeting for 'good morning.' More polite and literary than the everyday 你好 said in the morning; common in letters, speeches, and across Asia.

idiom

Good morning!

Examples

早安，。
zǎo ān, Jīn tiān tiān qì zhēn hǎo.
Good morning, the weather is really nice today.
，早安！
Lǎo shī, zǎo ān!
Teacher, good morning!
早安。
Tā měi tiān zǎo shàng dōu gēn wǒ men shuō zǎo ān.
He says good morning to us every morning.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

早zǎomorning

早 morning + 安 well gives a wish for a peaceful morning.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

棗

棗zǎo早zǎo

Same sound today

The form 早 pairs 日 (sun) with 棗, which gives the sound; an earlier shape of 早 was a picture of an acorn.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

宀女安

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀mián

Sound part声符shēngfú

女

女nǚ安ān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Appears in

Greetings & Politeness 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.