早晨
zǎo chén · HSK 2
morning
🌅 早 = early + 晨 = dawn; together: early morning
早 (zǎo) means early — sun 日 over a helmet/sprout 十. 晨 (chén) means dawn — sun 日 above 辰 (the early hours). Stacked together, 早晨 literally reads early-dawn = early morning.
早 — sun 日 + ten 十 (originally 甲, a helmet/sprout)
Originally depicted the sun 日 rising above a sprouting plant or a person's head, suggesting the early morning when the sun first appears. The lower component was simplified over time into 十. The core meaning 'morning, early' has remained stable since oracle bone script.