Chinese word

已经

Pronunciation

Pinyinyǐ jīng

Meaning

  • adverbalready

Example

我已经吃过了。wǒ yǐ jīng chī guò le

I have already eaten.

Illustration for 已经 (already)

More examples

他已经回家了。tā yǐ jīng huí jiā le

He has already gone home.

Core concept

A change crosses from the past into the present and leaves its result in place.

Common phrases

  • 已经回家了yǐ jīng huí jiā le

    already went home

  • 已经买好了yǐ jīng mái hǎo le

    already bought it

  • 已经知道了yǐ jīng zhī dào le

    already know

Similar words

就jiù: Marks an action as happening soon or promptly.
才cái: Marks an action as happening later than expected, only after some delay.
刚gāng: Marks an action as having happened very recently.
还hái: Marks a state or action as still continuing.

Definition in Chinese

作为副词，表示某个动作或状态在说话时点之前已完成或已存在，侧重表明从过去到现在的变化已达成的状态。zuò wéi fù cí biǎo shì mǒu gè dòng zuò huò zhuàng tài zài shuō huà shí diǎn zhī qián yǐ wán chéng huò yǐ cún zài cè zhòng biǎo míng cóng guò qù dào xiàn zài de biàn huà yǐ dá chéng de zhuàng tài

Word origin

已经 (yǐjīng, "already") combines 已 (yǐ, "already") + 经 (jīng, "to pass through"), and the compound came to mark a situation reached through time.

Usage tips

  • English can place a time adverb at the end, but this Chinese adverb usually comes before the verb, so its position helps show that the event is complete by a certain time.

Opposites

  • 还没hái méinot yetadverb

Word lists with this word