早餐 (zǎocān) literally means 'early meal' — 早 (zǎo) means 'early' or 'morning', and 餐 (cān) means 'meal' or 'course'. Together, they form the standard, neutral term for the first main meal of the day. It is commonly used in both spoken and written Chinese across all regions and registers, from casual family conversations to restaurant menus and health guidelines.

This word emphasizes timing rather than content: it refers to any food eaten in the morning, whether traditional Chinese items like congee and baozi or Western-style toast and eggs. Unlike some English dialects that use 'breakfast' loosely, 早餐 specifically denotes a meal consumed before noon, typically within two hours of waking. It’s often paired with time markers (e.g., 吃早餐, 早餐时间) or adjectives describing type (e.g., 西式早餐, 简单的早餐).