morning · dynasty

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 朝 has 12 strokes and refers to the morning at the start of a day.
• Basic usage: 朝, morning, is read あさ, while 今朝, this morning, is read けさ.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Morning in general and this morning
  • 朝は makes morning the topic, while 今朝は narrows it to this morning.
  • 今朝届いた手紙 means a letter that arrived this morning. 今朝 specifies when the letter arrived.