sunrise

Compared meaning: the early morning when light appears (noun).

比较义项：黎明，天刚亮的时候（名词）。

• dawn

  Refers to the period when the sky first starts to lighten, before the sun itself appears; more literary, common in fixed phrases like "at dawn" or "before dawn".

  指天空开始变亮、太阳尚未真正露面的那段时间；用法较书面，常出现在“at dawn”“before dawn”这类固定搭配中。

  The sky was already pale grey at dawn, an hour before the sun appeared.

  黎明时天空已经泛起灰白色，那时太阳还要一个小时才会出现。

• sunrise 本词

  Refers to the specific, visible moment the sun's disk rises above the horizon; concrete and visual, typically used when someone watches or photographs it.

  指太阳的圆面升上地平线那一具体、可视的瞬间；比较具象，常用于人们观赏或拍照的场景。

  Tourists gathered on the cliff to watch the sunrise paint the sky orange.

  游客们聚在悬崖上，观看日出把天空染成橙色。

Dawn and sunrise both mean when day begins, but dawn is when the sky first grows light, common in 'at dawn'. Sunrise is the exact moment the sun rises above the horizon, often watched or photographed. Dawn's other meaning is not compared here.

这两个词都可以指“天刚亮”的时刻，意思相近，但 dawn 更强调天空开始泛白的那一段时间，常用于书面或诗意的表达，比如“at dawn”“before dawn”；sunrise 则专指太阳升上地平线这一具体、可观赏的事件，常用于“watch the sunrise”这类说法，而且在时间上通常晚于 dawn。这里不比较 dawn 表示“开端、萌芽”（如新时代的到来）这一引申义。