Chinese word

早就

Pronunciation

Pinyinzǎo jiù

Meaning

  • adverbalready

Example

我早就知道这件事了。wǒ zǎo jiù zhī dào zhè jiàn shì le

I already knew about this.

Illustration for 早就 (already)

More examples

他早就走了。tā zǎo jiù zǒu le

He had already left.

Core concept

Places a fact before the moment under discussion and treats it as established rather than newly true.

Common phrases

  • 早就开始了zǎo jiù kāi shǐ le

    already started

  • 早就走了zǎo jiù zǒu le

    already left

  • 早就吃过饭了zǎo jiù chī guò fàn le

    already eaten

Similar words

已经yǐ jīng: Marks an action, change, or condition as complete or true by a certain time.

Definition in Chinese

通常位于动词之前，表示从较早时间起某事已存在或发生，常用以确认或强调早已如此的事实。tōng cháng wèi yú dòng cí zhī qián biǎo shì cóng jiào zǎo shí jiān qǐ mǒu shì yǐ cún zài huò fā shēng cháng yòng yǐ què rèn huò qiáng diào záo yǐ rú cǐ de shì shí

Word origin

早 (zǎo, "early") + 就 (jiù, "then") joins an earlier point with an established result, so the compound marks something as settled ahead of the current time.

Usage tips

  • In conversation, this word can signal that a fact should not be surprising or new, which helps explain its frequent use in replies and explanations.

Other meanings

  • long agoadverb
  • beforeadverb

Opposites

  • 还没hái méinot yetadverb

Word lists with this word