已经 (yǐ jīng) — already | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

已经 is the everyday 'already' marking completion before now. Unlike 都/既, it focuses on an action finished, not totality or formality.

adverb

already

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

已yǐalready

Both 已 and 经 express completion, together meaning already.

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 經; 经 is its simplified writing.

糹巠經

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糹Written in full as糸mìsilk; thread

Sound part声符shēngfú

巠

巠jīng經jīng

Same sound today

The traditional form 經 combines 糹 (silk; thread) with 巠, which gives the sound.

Appears in