Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 早安 | zǎo'ān |
| 早 | zǎo |
| 早上好 | zǎoshanghǎo |
| 你早 | nǐ zǎo |
These phrases are used when seeing someone for the first time in the morning. 早安 is a common and simple way to say 'good morning' in both written and spoken communication. 早上好 is used when addressing a group of people. 早 is a shortened, casual way to say 'morning' or 'good morning' to friends or colleagues. 你早 is a polite way to address someone specifically or to return a morning greeting.
What does it mean word for word?
早安 is composed of 早 (early/morning) and 安 (peace/safety). 早上好 is composed of 早上 (morning) and 好 (good).
Which one should you use?
早安 often sounds slightly more formal or literary than 早上好, which is the standard everyday greeting. 早 is a shortened and more casual version of 'good morning' used among friends and peers.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
早 is an informal version used among friends and peers. 早安 and 早上好 are formal options.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say 'good morning' to a group, place the group noun, such as 大家, before the phrase 早上好.
How do you pronounce it?
zǎo'ān
Did you know?
- In some ancient texts, the word for 'morning' was actually written using the character 蚤, which is also the character used for 'flea' in modern Chinese.
- In Chinese culture, the concept of 'peace' or 'safety' is embedded in the greeting 早安, making the phrase literally wish the listener a 'peaceful morning'.
Examples in context
- 你好啊！早上好！Hello! Good morning!This sentence shows how to use 早 in a greeting.Tatoeba #10552179 by GlossaMatik, translation #435082 by lukaszpp
- 早！Good morning!This sentence shows a casual use of the single character 早.Tatoeba #2032292 by ydcok, translation #329713 by YURY0608
- 大家早上好。Good morning, everybody.This sentence demonstrates how to address a group using 早.Tatoeba #399028 by kellenparker, translation #22122 by CK
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
浩然 and 雨婷 meet in the office lobby in the morning.
- 浩然 Haoran雨婷，早安。Yǔtíng, zǎo'ān.Good morning, Yuting.
- 雨婷 Yuting浩然，早安！Hàorán, zǎo'ān!Good morning, Haoran!
- 浩然 Haoran你今天看起来很有精神。Nǐ jīntiān kàn qǐlái hěn yǒu jīngshén.You look very energetic today.
- 雨婷 Yuting谢谢，因为昨晚睡得很好。Xièxiè, yīnwèi zuówǎn shuì de hěn hǎo.Thanks, because I slept very well last night.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good morning” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 早, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
