How to say “already” in Chinese
already (lit.)
“Already” in Chinese is 已, yǐ: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
已 is read yǐ. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Don't confuse it with 己 “oneself”: in 已 the left stroke rises higher.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “已”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 已. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我已经到了。wǒyǐjīngdàoleI’m already here.
- 票已经卖完了piàoyǐjīngmàiwánleThe tickets are already sold out.
- 对不起，咖啡已经卖完了。duìbuqǐ,kāfēiyǐjīngmàiwánleSorry, the coffee is already sold out.
- 我已经习惯了wǒyǐjīngxíguànleI'm used to it now.
- 这个问题已经解决了zhègewèntíyǐjīngjiějuéleThis problem has already been solved.
- 我以为会议已经结束了wǒyǐwéihuìyìyǐjīngjiéshùleI thought the meeting was already over.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Pause and continue”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “already” in Chinese?
“Already” in Chinese is 已, pinyin yǐ.
What does 已 mean?
已 (yǐ) means “already (lit.)”.
How do you write 已?
已 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 已?
已 is read yǐ. Tones: yǐ — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“already” in the lesson “Pause and continue”
This word is from the topic “Health and habits” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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