Early forms of 早 place 日, the sun, above a lower sign that was historically closer to 甲 than to today’s simple 十. Scholars do not all agree on exactly what that lower element first represented, and securely dated forms are later than the earliest oracle-bone writing. What remains clear is the old link with the beginning of the day. This ancient-form-inspired sketch keeps the sun above the older crossed lower sign.
A piece of culture
A greeting for the start of the day 早 is both a time word and a friendly greeting. In Mandarin, 早! is a natural short way to say “Morning!”, while 早上好 is a fuller “Good morning”. Cantonese commonly uses 早晨, zou2 san4, for the same greeting. The character also helps build useful words such as 早饭 / 早飯, “breakfast”, and 早上, “morning”.