zǎo cān
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我每天早上都吃早餐。
wǒ měitiān zǎoshang dōu chī zǎocān.
I eat breakfast every morning.
早餐吃什么？
zǎocān chī shénme?
What do you eat for breakfast?
我喜歡吃中式早餐。
wǒ xǐhuān chī zhōngshì zǎocān.
I like to eat Chinese breakfast.
早饭 (zǎofàn)
breakfast
早点 (zǎodiǎn)
breakfast
晚餐 (wǎncān)
dinner
午餐 (wǔcān)
lunch
The Chinese word 早餐 (zǎocān) for "breakfast" is a compound of two characters: 早 (zǎo), meaning "morning", and 餐 (cān), meaning "meal". The character 早 is composed of two parts: 日 (rì), meaning "sun", and 旦 (dàn), meaning "dawn". The character 餐 is composed of two parts: 食 (shí), meaning "food", and 饣 (yàn), which is a phonetic component.The word 早餐 first appeared in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). It was originally used to refer to the first meal of the day, which was typically eaten around sunrise. Over time, the meaning of 早餐 has expanded to include any meal eaten in the morning, regardless of the time of day.The word 早餐 is used in both Mandarin and Cantonese. In Mandarin, it is pronounced zǎocān. In Cantonese, it is pronounced zou2 caan2.
