{"id":10576,"date":"2019-11-22T12:23:29","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T12:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/?p=10576"},"modified":"2019-11-22T15:58:56","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T15:58:56","slug":"does-zao-dian-zao-dian-mean-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/my\/does-zao-dian-zao-dian-mean-early\/","title":{"rendered":"Does\u65e9\u70b9 (z\u01ceo di\u01cen) Mean Early?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Simon has just arrived in China for business. He loves learning Chinese; however, he o<\/em>nly studied the language briefly before leaving for China. What will happen to him with such limited knowledge a<\/em>bout China? How much culture shock will he face?<\/p>\n

The first day when he got up and took a walk on the street, he was co<\/em>nfused by all the signs he saw that read “\u65e9\u70b9 (z\u01ceo di\u01cen),” which were in front of many shops and stalls along the streets. Simon thought the sign told people to get up early for work. Because of this, Simon thought that Chinese people are very diligent and hardworking.<\/p>\n

This afternoon, while chatting with a friend, he mentio<\/em>ned this discovery.<\/p>\n

              zh\u014dng guó  rén  zh\u0113n  qín láo
Simon\uff1a\u4e2d\u56fd \u4eba \u771f \u52e4\u52b3\u3002<\/strong>
              Chinese are really hard-working.<\/p>\n

                  wéi shí me  zhè me  shu\u014d
Xiao Lin\uff1a\u4e3a\u4ec0\u4e48 \u8fd9\u4e48 \u8bf4\uff1f<\/strong>
                 Why do you say so?<\/p>\n

              dà ji\u0113 shàng dào chù  d\u014du  y\u01d2u  “z\u01ceo di\u01cen ”
Simon\uff1a\u5927\u8857\u4e0a\u5230\u5904 \u90fd \u6709 “\u65e9\u70b9”\u3002<\/strong>
             Everywher on the street there are signs saying “early”.<\/p>\n

                   h\u0101 h\u0101 \uff0cnà xi\u0113 “z\u01ceo di\u01cen ”k\u011b shì “z\u01ceo c\u0101n ”de yì s\u012b \u0101
Xiao Lin\uff1a\u54c8\u54c8\uff0c\u90a3\u4e9b“\u65e9\u70b9”\u53ef\u662f“\u65e9\u9910”\u7684\u610f\u601d\u554a\u3002
<\/strong>                  Haha, those signs means “breakfast”.<\/p>\n

The signs“\u65e9\u70b9 (z\u01ceo di\u01cen)” in front of the shops and stalls actually means “breakfast”, which may co<\/em>nfuse foreigners.<\/p>\n

The word “\u65e9\u70b9 (z\u01ceo di\u01cen)”has two meanings in Chinese. First, it literally means “early,” as in early in the day. However, \u65e9\u70b9 (z\u01ceodi\u01cen) can also mean “breakfast,” being a combination of “\u65e9\u4e0a” (z\u01ceo shàng), which means“morning,” and “\u70b9\u5fc3” (di\u01cen x\u012bn), which means “dim sum”. \u65e9\u70b9 (z\u01ceo di\u01cen) isn’t just dim sum, though; it refers to anything you might eat in the morning. \u65e9\u70b9 (z\u01ceo di\u01cen) has the same meaning as \u65e9\u9910 (z\u01ceo c\u0101n), which is a more typical word for “breakfast.”<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n

     J\u012bn ti\u0101n de z\u01ceo di\u01cen h\u011bn h\u01ceo ch\u012b.
A:\u4eca\u5929 \u7684 \u65e9\u70b9 \u5f88 \u597d\u5403\u3002
<\/strong>    Today’s breakfast is very delicious<\/p>\n

    míng ti\u0101n  z\u01ceo di\u01cen  lái ch\u012b
B:\u660e\u5929 \u65e9\u70b9 \u6765\u5403\u3002
<\/strong>    Come to eat early tomorrow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n