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已然 (yǐ rán) — (formal) already so; to have already become a fact

Definition

Formal/written idiom meaning 'already so' or 'has already become a fact' — stronger and more literary than the plain 已经. Use in essays, reports, or when a situation is settled and irreversible.

idiom
(formal) already soto have already become a fact

Examples

  • 已然，。
    Shì qing yǐ rán rú cǐ, wǒ men zhǐ néng jiē shòu xiàn shí.
    Things are already like this; we can only accept the reality.
  • 已然，。
    Zhè zhǒng qū shì yǐ rán xíng chéng, nán yǐ nì zhuǎn.
    This trend has already taken shape and is hard to reverse.
  • 已然。
    Tā cí zhí de chuán wén yǐ rán chéng wéi shì shí.
    The rumor about his resignation has already become a fact.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

已yǐalready
然ránso

已 means already and 然 means so; together they express that something is already the case.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 已 may originally have been a drawing of either a snake or a fetus.

Open 已 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
肰
肰rán然rán
Same sound today

然 is made from 肰, which gives the sound, and 火, which shows fire, matching the old sense 'to burn'.

Open 然 →
Appears in
Time (Abstract)

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