Helen

Conversation
早点(zăodiăn) Breakfast; Come a Bit Early   
Advanced level/高级 gāojí    

A: 你们中国的确是一个勤奋的民族。   
     Nǐmen zhōngguó díquè shì yí gè qínfèn de mínzú.
     You China really are a diligent nation.
B: 你怎么看出来的？     
     Nǐ zěnme kàn chūlái de?
     How do you know that?
A: 我在街上走的时候，常常可以看到路旁的招牌写着 "早点" 两个大字，提醒上班的人不要迟到。   
   
     Wǒ zài jiē shàng zǒu de shíhou, chángcháng kéyǐ kàndào lùpáng de zhāopai xiězhe "zăodiǎn" liǎnggè dàzì,
     tíxǐng shàngbān de rén búyào chídào.   
     I can always see the two words "早点" on the signboard when walking on the street, reminding people not to be
     late (or "come a bit early").
B: 那不是提醒上班的人不要迟到，那是卖早饭的。   
     Nà bú shì tíxǐng shàngbān de rén bú yào chídào, nà shì mài zǎofàn de.
     Those are not reminding workers not to be late; those signs are for selling breakfast.

Analysis
早点(zăodiăn) in Chinese has two meanings. One refers to breakfast and the other means "come early." 早(zăo) means early and 点(diăn) means o'clock. In this conversation, the 早点(zăodiăn) which "A" sees on signs simply means "breakfast," but "A" misunderstands and thinks it means "come a bit early." Usually, telling someone to "come a bit early" is expressed orally, while the words displayed on signs refers to "breakfast."

Examples
我得早点走，不然就赶不上公交车了。   
Wǒ děi zǎodiǎn zǒu, bùrán jiù gǎn bú shàng gōngjiāochē le.
I should leave a bit earlier; otherwise, I will miss the bus.
我们一起吃早点吧？   
Wǒmen yìqǐ chī zǎodiǎn ba?
How about having breakfast together?

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