How to Say “Early morning” in Chinese
Time and dates · HSK 2
"Early morning" in Chinese is 清晨 (qīng chén). 清晨 (qīng chén) refers to the peaceful, quiet hours just after sunrise; roughly 5 to 7 AM. It carries a poetic, fresh feeling and shows up often in literature and weather reports.
Primary translation
清晨
qīng chén
Variants by register
Formal
清晨
qīng chén
Casual
大清早
dà qīng zǎo
When to use it
清晨 (qīng chén) refers to the peaceful, quiet hours just after sunrise; roughly 5 to 7 AM. It carries a poetic, fresh feeling and shows up often in literature and weather reports. In daily speech, people lean on 早上 (zǎo shang, morning) or 一大早 / 大清早 when complaining about being up too early. Older Chinese often do tai chi or square dancing at this hour, so 清晨的公园 (the park at dawn) is a vivid cultural image.
Example sentences
清晨的空气特别清新。
Qīng chén de kōng qì tè bié qīng xīn.
The air in the early morning is especially fresh.
他每天清晨去公园锻炼。
Tā měi tiān qīng chén qù gōng yuán duàn liàn.
He goes to the park to exercise every early morning.
你怎么大清早就起来了？
Nǐ zěn me dà qīng zǎo jiù qǐ lái le?
Why are you up so early in the morning?