早班 (zǎo bān) — morning shift | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The morning work shift, usually starting early and ending in the afternoon. Contrasts with 晚班 (evening/night shift) and 夜班 (overnight shift).

noun

morning shift

Measure word · 个

Examples

早班，。
Tā jīn tiān shàng zǎo bān, míng tiān shàng wǎn bān.
He works the morning shift today and the night shift tomorrow.
早班。
zǎo bān De huǒ chē liù diǎn jiù chū fā le.
The morning shift train departed at six o'clock.
早班，。
Wǒ gèng xǐ huan zǎo bān, yīn wèi xià bān hòu hái yǒu shí jiān zuò qí tā shì.
I prefer the morning shift because I still have time to do other things after work.

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” means early and “班” means a work shift, so it refers to the morning shift.

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.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

珏珏juépieces of jade
刀刀dāoknife

班 shows 珏, pieces of jade, and 刀, a knife, cutting them into pieces.

Appears in

Workplace & Office

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