早起 (zǎo qǐ) — to get up early; early rising | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

verb

to get up earlyearly rising

Examples

早起，。
Tā měi tiān zǎo qǐ, cóng bú shuì lǎn jiào.
He gets up early every day and never sleeps in.
早起。
zǎo qǐ Duì shēn tǐ yǒu hěn duō hǎo chù.
Getting up early has many benefits for your health.
早起。
Wǒ men yuē hǎo míng tiān yì qǐ zǎo qǐ pǎo bù.
We agreed to get up early together tomorrow and go running.

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.

起qǐget up

早 means early and 起 means to get up, so it describes rising early.

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.

走巳起

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

巳

巳sì起qǐ

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Appears in

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