早上好
zǎoshanghǎo
In Mandarin, 'good morning' can be expressed in several ways, most commonly as 早上好 (zǎoshanghǎo). Wiktionary also lists 早 (zǎo) and 早安 (zǎo'ān).
Meaning: when seeing someone for the first time in the morning (intj)
Ways to say it
| Mandarin | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 早上好 | zǎoshanghǎo |
| 早 | zǎo |
| 早安 | zǎo'ān |
| 你早 | nǐ zǎo |
These phrases are used when seeing someone for the first time in the morning.
What does it mean word for word?
The standard phrase 早上好 is composed of 早上 (morning) and 好 (good). The phrase 早安 is composed of 早 (early/morning) and 安 (peace/safety).
Which one should you use?
While both 早上好 and 早安 mean 'good morning', 早上好 is the standard spoken greeting. In contrast, 早安 sounds more elegant or formal.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The single syllable 早 is a common, casual way to say 'morning!' to friends or colleagues and is used informally among peers. The phrase 早啊 is also an informal way to say good morning. 早上好 is a common way to say good morning in Mandarin. For more formal or literary situations, such as written greetings or broadcast settings, use 早安.
How do you pronounce it?
zǎoshanghǎo
Did you know?
- The character 早 may have originated as a pictogram of an acorn.
- The phrase 早安 focuses on 'safety' and 'peace' (安), reflecting a cultural value of wishing stability upon others at the start of the day.
- The character 早 contains the radical for 'sun' 日, reflecting the idea of the sun appearing for the first time.
Examples in context
- 你好啊！早上好！Hello! Good morning!The sentence is useful for practicing a greeting with 早.Tatoeba #10552179 by GlossaMatik, translation #435082 by lukaszpp
- 早！Good morning!The sentence is useful for a short, casual greeting with 早.Tatoeba #2032292 by ydcok, translation #329713 by YURY0608
- 大家早上好。Good morning, everybody.The sentence is useful for addressing a group with 早.Tatoeba #399028 by kellenparker, translation #22122 by CK
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
浩然 meets 欣怡 at the office in the morning.
- 浩然 Haoran欣怡，早上好。Xīnyí, zǎoshang hǎo.Xinyi, good morning.
- 欣怡 Xinyi浩然，早上好！Hàorán, zǎoshang hǎo!Haoran, good morning!
- 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.
- 欣怡 Xinyi谢谢，你也一样。Xièxiè, nǐ yě yīyàng.Thanks, you too.
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.
