How to say “long ago” in Chinese
long ago
“Long ago” in Chinese is 早已, zǎo yǐ: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
早已 is read zǎo yǐ: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
Two third tones in a row: the first one is said as a second tone, but it is still written as a third.
How to write it
On top, 日 “sun”.
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 “早已”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 早已. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我早已习惯了这里的生活wǒzǎoyǐxíguànlezhèlǐdeshēnghuóI got used to life here long ago.
More words from the lesson “Ten whole years”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “long ago” in Chinese?
“Long ago” in Chinese is 早已, pinyin zǎoyǐ.
What does 早已 mean?
早已 (zǎoyǐ) means “long ago”.
How do you write 早已?
早已 is 2 characters: 早 (zǎo) — early, morning; 已 (yǐ) — already. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 早已?
早已 is read zǎoyǐ. Tones: zǎo — third tone, yǐ — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“long ago” in the lesson “Ten whole years”
This word is from the topic “Time: at once and little by little” of HSK 5. 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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