The character 早 — “early”: how to write it and what it means
early, morning
The Chinese character 早 is read zǎo and means “early, morning”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 早
早 has 6 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 早, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 早 is made of
On top, 日 “sun”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 早
- 早上morningHSK 1
- 早饭breakfastHSK 1
- 早餐breakfastHSK 4
- 早晨early morningHSK 4
- 早晚sooner or later; morning and eveningHSK 5
- 早已long agoHSK 5
- 早期early periodHSK 5
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 早?
早 has 6 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 早 mean?
早 means “early, morning”. It appears in 早上 (“morning”), 早饭 (“breakfast”), 早餐 (“breakfast”), 早晨 (“early morning”).
How do you pronounce 早?
早 is read zǎo. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 早 have?
6 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 早 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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