The character 早 is a pictograph showing the sun (日) rising above a plant or helmet-like base (十/甲), depicting the first light of dawn. Its earliest oracle-bone forms clearly show daybreak imagery. The character has carried the sense of "early" and "morning" since ancient Chinese.

早 doubles as a standalone morning greeting in Mandarin — saying just "早！" (zǎo!) to someone is a friendly, casual way to say "Good morning!" The fuller form 早上好 (zǎo shàng hǎo) is slightly more formal. In Chinese work and school culture, arriving early is considered a virtue, so 来得早 ("arrived early") carries a quietly positive connotation.