Meaning of 已经
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- already
How to use 已经
已经 goes before the verb or adjective, and the sentence often ends with 了 (le) to show a change or completed action. Example: 我已经吃饭了。(Wǒ yǐjīng chīfàn le.) I have already eaten.
已 (yǐ) means something is finished, and 经 (jīng) appears in words about going through things, like 经过 (jīngguò). Put them together: the action has already been gone through.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 已 (yǐ) with the look-alike characters 己 (jǐ, self) and 巳 (sì). In 已 the top stroke is half closed, in 己 it is open, and in 巳 it is fully closed. Another common error is dropping 了 at the end, as in 我已经吃饭, which sounds incomplete.
已经 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
已 yǐ · already · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
经 jīng · classics · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 已经.
| 经常 | jīngcháng | frequently; constantly; regularly; often; day-to-day; everyday; daily |
| 经过 | jīngguò | to pass; to go through |
| 经理 | jīnglǐ | manager; director |
| 曾经 | céngjīng | once; already |
| 经历 | jīnglì | to experience; to go through; experience (CL:段[duan4],次[ci4]) |
| 经验 | jīngyàn | experience; to go through; to experience |
| 经济 | jīngjì | economy; economic |
| 经营 | jīngyíng | to engage in (business etc); to run; to operate |
| 早已 | zǎoyǐ | for a long time; long since; (dialect) in the past |
| 经典 | jīngdiǎn | the classics; scriptures |
| 神经 | shénjīng | nerve; mental state |
| 经费 | jīngfèi | funds; expenditure |
Questions about 已经
What does 已经 mean?
已经 (yǐjīng) means "already" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 已经?
已经 is made of 2 characters: 已 (3 strokes), 经 (8 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 已经 an HSK word?
Yes. 已经 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 已经 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 已经 is written 已經.
What is the difference between 已经 and 曾经?
已经 (yǐjīng) means something is done now and the result still matters, like 他已经走了 (he has already left). 曾经 (céngjīng) means something happened at some time in the past and is often over, like 我曾经住在北京 (I once lived in Beijing).
Can 已经 be used with numbers or time?
Yes. It often comes before an amount of time or a number to stress that it is a lot or later than expected. For example, 已经十点了 (yǐjīng shí diǎn le) means it is already ten o'clock.