早晨
zou² san⁴
Good morning in Cantonese is 早晨 (zou² san⁴).
While it literally means 'early morning', it is used as a greeting when seeing someone for the first time in the morning.
Meaning: when seeing someone for the first time in the morning (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 早 (early) and 晨 (morning).
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding the sentence-final particle 呀 to the end of 早晨 makes the greeting sound warmer and more natural in casual conversation.
How do you pronounce it?
zou² san⁴
Did you know?
- When texting friends, Cantonese speakers often skip the characters entirely and use the English 'GM' or a simplified version of the sounds to save time.
- The character 晨 is visually composed of the 'sun' radical and a phonetic element. It specifically represents the moment the sun rises, reflecting the ancient Chinese focus on the exact timing of the dawn.
- Though it translates to 'early morning', using 早晨 at 11:00 AM is perfectly acceptable, whereas in English, using 'early morning' at that time would feel strange.
Examples in context
- 佢好開心咁話：大家早晨呀！She said happily, "Good morning, everybody!"This sentence shows the use of 早晨 in a happy greeting to a group.Tatoeba #4778571 by kaenif, translation #6403746 by alishalikescats
- 早晨。Good morning!This sentence shows a simple use of 早晨.Tatoeba #402878 by nickyeow, translation #329713 by YURY0608
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two colleagues meet at the office elevator.
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan早晨，俊傑！zou2 san4, jun6 zit3!Good morning, Jun Kit!
- 俊傑 Chun Kit早晨，嘉欣。zou2 san4, gaa1 han1.Good morning, Ka Yan.
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan你食咗早餐未呀？nei5 sik6 zo2 zou2 caan1 mei6 aa3?Have you had breakfast yet?
- 俊傑 Chun Kit未呀，我而家去買。mei6 aa3, ngo5 ji4 gaa1 heoi3 maai3.Not yet, I'm going to buy some now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good morning” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
