早晨 (zǎo chen) — early morning | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

早晨 refers specifically to the early part of the morning, with a more written, slightly literary feel than the everyday 早上.

noun

early morning

Measure word · 个

Examples

早晨。
zǎo chen De kōng qì hěn xīn xiān.
The morning air is very fresh.
早晨。
Wǒ zǎo chen xǐ huan pǎo bù.
I like to go running in the morning.
早晨。
Tā měi tiān zǎo chen qī diǎn qù shàng bān.
He goes to work at seven 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.

晨chénmorning

早 adds the idea of early, and 晨 is the morning, so the word means early 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.

日辰晨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

辰

辰chén晨chén

Same sound today

The shape 晨 adds 日 (sun) to 辰, which gives the sound; it was originally written as 辰 alone.

Appears in

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