早餐

• Pinyin: zǎo cān
• Hanzi breakdown: 早 = 日 (sun) + base, depicting the sun just risen; 餐 = complex character containing 食 (food), meaning 'meal'

Meaning

Breakfast. The first meal of the day, eaten in the morning.

A slightly more formal word for breakfast. In everyday speech, 早饭 is equally common and more colloquial. Chinese breakfast typically includes items like 豆浆 (soy milk), 油条 (fried dough sticks), 包子 (steamed buns), 粥 (congee), and 鸡蛋 (eggs).

Examples

1. 你今天吃早餐了吗？ Did you eat breakfast today?
2. 早餐我喜欢喝粥。 I like to have congee for breakfast.
3. 不吃早餐对身体不好。 Skipping breakfast is bad for your health.

Usage Guide

Context: food, daily routine

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 早餐吃了什么？(What did you have for breakfast?)
• 酒店的早餐很丰富。(The hotel breakfast is very plentiful.)

Don't Say

• 我吃了一个早餐。(Don't use 一个 before 早餐 — say 我吃了早餐 or 我吃了一顿早餐 with the correct measure word 顿.)

Origin & History

Compound of 早 (early/morning) and 餐 (meal), literally 'morning meal.'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal