míngtiān wǒmen zǎodiǎnr chūfā ba.

A very common Mandarin pattern is:

time + subject + adverbial phrase + verb + sentence particle

So here:

• 明天 = tomorrow
• 我们 = we
• 早点儿 = a bit earlier / early
• 出发 = set out / leave
• 吧 = suggestion particle

So the sentence is built very naturally in Mandarin word order.

Mandarin often puts time expressions near the beginning of the sentence, before the main verb.

So 明天我们早点儿出发吧 is very natural.

You can also say:

• 我们明天早点儿出发吧

Both are correct. The difference is mainly emphasis:

• 明天我们... puts a little more focus on tomorrow
• 我们明天... starts with we

吧 at the end of a sentence often makes the tone softer and turns it into a suggestion, proposal, or gentle recommendation.

Here, 吧 makes the sentence feel like:

• Let’s leave a bit earlier tomorrow.
• How about we set off earlier tomorrow?

Without 吧, the sentence sounds more like a plain statement of a plan:

• 明天我们早点儿出发。 = Tomorrow we’re leaving earlier.

With 吧, it sounds more collaborative and polite.

Because 早点儿 is modifying the verb 出发.

In Mandarin, words like early, slowly, carefully, a little, very usually come before the verb they modify.

So:

• 早点儿出发 = leave earlier

This is different from English, where adverbs can move around more freely.

Here, 早点儿 means earlier or a bit earlier.

Literally, it is something like:

• 早 = early
• 点儿 = a little bit

So 早点儿出发 means:

• set out a little earlier
• leave earlier

In natural English, earlier is usually the best translation in this sentence.

They are very close in meaning.

• 早点儿
• 早一点

Both can mean a bit earlier.

Differences:

• 早一点 is very clear and widely usable
• 早点儿 is more colloquial, especially in speech
• 点儿 has an 儿 ending, which is common in northern-style Mandarin

In this sentence, either of these works:

• 明天我们早点儿出发吧。
• 明天我们早一点出发吧。

Yes, 早点 can mean breakfast or morning snack in some contexts.

But here it does not mean breakfast, because of its position and function in the sentence.

In this sentence:

• 早点儿 comes before the verb 出发
• so it is acting like an adverbial phrase meaning earlier

Compare:

• 我去买早点。 = I’m going to buy breakfast.
• 我们早点儿出发。 = We’ll leave earlier.

So context and sentence structure make the meaning clear.

It is pronounced:

zǎodiǎnr

The 儿 at the end gives it an -r coloring, often called erhua.

A few helpful points:

• 点儿 is often pronounced almost like diǎnr
• the r sound is attached to the end
• in careful pronunciation, learners may first say it more clearly as zǎo diǎn er, then gradually make it smoother

If 儿化 is hard for you, you can safely say:

• 早一点

That is often easier for learners and still completely natural.

Usually, yes.

In a sentence like 我们...吧, it very often includes the person being spoken to, so it works like English let’s ...

So:

• 我们早点儿出发吧 = Let’s leave a bit earlier

One thing to know: Mandarin 我们 does not always clearly mark the difference between inclusive we and exclusive we.

If a speaker wants to sound more clearly inclusive, especially in casual speech, they might say:

• 咱们明天早点儿出发吧。

咱们 very strongly includes the listener.

Because this sentence is talking about a future suggestion, not a completed action.

• 了 is often used for completed actions, change of state, or new situations
• here, the speaker is proposing a plan for tomorrow

So 明天我们早点儿出发吧 is complete and natural without 了.

If you added 了 carelessly, it could sound unnatural or change the meaning.

Usually not in this exact structure.

The natural pattern is:

• 早点儿出发

not:

• 出发早点儿

If you want a structure with the idea after the verb, you would normally change the grammar, for example:

• 我们得早点儿出发。 = We have to leave earlier.
• 我们出发得早点儿。 = We need to set off earlier.

But for the original sentence, 早点儿 before 出发 is the standard and most natural choice.