Chinese word

早饭

Pronunciation

Pinyinzǎo fàn

Meaning

  • nounbreakfast

Example

我通常在家吃早饭。wǒ tōng cháng zài jiā chī zǎo fàn

I usually eat breakfast at home.

Illustration for 早饭 (breakfast)

More examples

我今天没吃早饭，现在很饿。wǒ jīn tiān méi chī zǎo fàn xiàn zài hěn è

I did not have breakfast today, so I am very hungry now.

Core concept

A morning meal that can be a full serving of staple food or a quick bite.

Common phrases

  • 吃早饭chī zǎo fàn

    have breakfast

  • 做早饭zuò zǎo fàn

    prepare breakfast

  • 买早饭mǎi zǎo fàn

    buy breakfast

Similar words

早餐zǎo cān: The morning meal, often used in writing and on menus.
午饭wǔ fàn: The meal eaten around noon, in the middle of the day.
晚饭wǎn fàn: The main meal eaten from evening into night.

Definition in Chinese

早饭指人在早晨吃的饭菜，包括主食与小吃，是日常生活中的一餐。zǎo fàn zhǐ rén zài zǎo chén chī de fàn cài bāo kuò zhǔ shí yǔ xiǎo chī shì rì cháng shēng huó zhōng de yì cān

Word origin

The word 早饭 (zǎofàn, "breakfast") joins 早 (zǎo, "early") and 饭 (fàn, "meal"), directly linking the meal to the early part of the day.

Usage tips

  • The common phrase 吃早饭 (chī zǎofàn, "eat breakfast") uses an action before the meal name, a useful pattern for describing morning routines in Chinese.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word