adj.
The sun just emerging over the horizon at daybreak. Being early, ahead of time; also informal “morning” as a greeting or time reference.
早
Common Usage & Traps
- 早上 — morning
- 很早 — very early
- 早点 — a bit earlier; breakfast
- 早！ — Morning! (casual greeting)
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早上！早！ / 早上好！You are translating English 'Morning!' where the whole word is the greeting. In Chinese 早上 just names the time block; the greeting is the short 早！or the full 早上好.
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我早来我来早了Early before the verb sounds like a plan or a command. Reporting that someone showed up ahead of schedule needs 早 after the verb, plus 了.
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吃早吃早点 / 吃早饭早 never shortens into a meal on its own. Breakfast is 早饭 or 早点; 早 alone stays as 'early' or the greeting.
Can you just say 早！ to a coworker in the elevator at 8am?
Yes. 早！alone is a real morning greeting, and it beats 早上好 for casual talk.
早上好 is fine, but it sits one notch formal, like 'Good morning, sir.' Real people in offices, gyms and elevators just say 早 or 早啊. If you only ever filed 早 under 'early', dropping one syllable as a whole greeting feels wrong. Natives hear the missing half of 早上好 and fill it in for you. But 早上 alone never works as a hello, because it only names the hours.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Casual hello to a neighbor | 早！ / 早啊！ | 早上！ |
| Texting your boss or in-laws | 早上好 / 早安 | 早！ |
| Naming the time block | 早上 | 早 |
Why does 你早点来 mean 'come a bit earlier' while 你来早了 means 'you came too early'?
早点 before the verb is a soft request; 早 after the verb says the early arrival already happened.
早点 has two lives: breakfast, and 'a little earlier', where 点 does the same softening job as in 快点儿. Put it before the action and you are asking for a favor in advance. Put 早 after the action with 了 and you are reporting a surprise instead. So 你早点来 is a request, and 你来早了 is an observation, often a mild complaint that the food is not ready.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Asking someone to arrive earlier | 你早点来 | 你早来 |
| Noting they arrived ahead of schedule | 你来早了 | 你来早 |
| Talking about breakfast | 吃早点 / 吃早饭 | 吃早 |
Why does 早 stand alone for 'morning' in 早中晚, when daily speech uses 早上?
Tight time lists and 今早 / 明早 drop the 上, but normal sentences cannot.
Chinese loves squeezing time into neat pairs, so 早中晚, 昨今明 and 前后左右 all cut the helper syllables. The same shorthand shows up in 今早 and 明早, which are perfectly ordinary in speech. Outside these set phrases, 早 on its own means 'early', never 'morning'. Try naming a morning as a plain noun and it wobbles: 今天的早 is not a thing, 今天早上 is.
“早中晚，昨今明。” (Morning, noon, and night; yesterday, today, and tomorrow.)
“早中晚，昨今明。” (Morning, noon, and night; yesterday, today, and tomorrow.)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Morning inside a set list | 早中晚 | 早上中晚 |
| One specific morning | 今天早上 / 今早 | 今天的早 |
| Meaning of 早 standing alone | early | morning |
Appears in Stories 3 stories
Real context sentences across different daily scenarios and graded readings.
Why would a millionaire leave a table of lobster and wagyu untouched? This story explores the hidden rules of business dining and the true cost of staying alert.
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我坐他对面，看见他把那块肉夹起来，放到了骨碟边沿，跟那根 早 就夹过来，但其实没吃的青菜并排摆着，整整齐齐。
Discover how a simple letter from a cookie seller led to an unexpected friendship with a famous scholar. This heartwarming story explores kindness and connection across social divides.
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胡之适看到饼干，笑了，说：“我 早 就吃过了。
Follow a day from waking at six-thirty to coming home at eight, then leap across days, months, and years. This simple story helps you practice speaking about routines and life changes with clear time words.
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早 中晚，昨今明。
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