朝

cháo, zhāo

月 + 𠦝

HSK 2.0Level 5

HSK 3.0Level 5

Definitions

zhāo (noun) morning

cháo (noun,verb) imperial court; dynasty; to face towards

Cháo (noun) Korea

Etymology

Depicts the early part of morning when the sun (日) can still be seen on the horizon between blades of grass (艸), and the moon (月) is still in the sky. Based on the original meaning "early morning". The meaning later shifted to "morning audience at court", "facing", "royal court", and "dynasty".

Semantic: 月 Phonetic: 龺

About

The character 朝 combines elements for the sun 日 and moon 月 with a component indicating grass or sprouting. Its original depiction showed the sun rising through grass while the moon remained visible, establishing its pronunciation zhāo and meaning of morning. When pronounced cháo, it signifies a royal court, a governing dynasty, or the act of facing a direction, reflecting the historical practice of subjects attending the emperor at morning court.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Mid Warring States (~300 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

大家早上好。

Dàjiā zǎoshang hǎo.

Good morning, everyone.

他朝着东方走去。

Tā cháozhe dōngfāng zǒu qù.

He walked towards the east.

这个房间窗户朝南。

Zhège fángjiān chuānghu cháo nán.

The windows of this room face south.

我们朝着目标努力奋斗。

Wǒmen cháozhe mùbiāo nǔlì fèndòu.

We strive hard towards our goal.

这座建筑建于明朝早期。

Zhè zuò jiànzhú jiàn yú Míngcháo zǎoqī.

This building was built in the early Ming Dynasty.

朝霞预示着今天天气不错。

Zhāoxiá yùshìzhe jīntiān tiānqì búcuò.

The morning glow indicates good weather today.

他始终朝着自己的梦想前进。

Tā shǐzhōng cháozhe zìjǐ de mèngxiǎng qiánjìn.

He always advances towards his own dream.

历史课上我们学习了多个朝代。

Lìshǐ kè shang wǒmen xuéxí le duō gè cháodài.

In history class, we studied several dynasties.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 月

Component: 𠦝

Example Words