Writing Balance Rule: The vertical stroke bends slightly to the left at the bottom, and the final vertical stroke on the right does not pierce all the way through the top bend.
1. Meaning
already
to stopthenafterwards
AdverbNeutral#time#completion#aspect
Sample Usage
我已经吃过饭了。
Wǒ yǐjīng chīguò fàn le.
I have already eaten.
天已经黑了。
Tiān yǐjīng hēi le.
It is already dark.
2. Sound
/[i²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
已
yǐyi3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=yǐ
Initial Consonant
y
Type: Palatal Glide (Zero Initial)
Sounds like: y
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Raise middle of tongue toward hard palate, gliding effortlessly into vowel.
Final Rhyme
i
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: -ee sound as in 'see'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T3 (214)
2 → 1 → 4 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Starts at a middle pitch, dips down into your chest, and rebounds sharply upward like an incredulous English 'Huh?'.
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, it shifts to a rising 2nd tone (e.g. yǐjīng becomes yíjīng).
👂
Listening trap: Confusing it with 1st tone ī or 4th tone yì due to fast native speech clipping the 3rd tone dip.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from medium pitch to low, then sweep up high.
3. Writing
Topology: Single character · Strokes: 3 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The vertical stroke bends slightly to the left at the bottom, and the final vertical stroke on the right does not pierce all the way through the top bend.
4. Components
Radical己 · oneself radical (oneself)
An extension of the character 己 (oneself), where the final vertical stroke breaks through or stretches out slightly to indicate that an action has gone past (already) completion.
己 oneself (the base root)
5. History
Liushu category: Indicative (指事)
Origin: Originally a pictograph of a snake or a fetus in ancient oracle bone scripts, later borrowed to represent completion or stopping.
Semantic Evolution: Shifted from meaning 'to stop' to indicating that an event has reached its stopping point or completion, hence 'already'.
It is closely related to the character 巳 (sì - 6th Earthly Branch) and 己 (jǐ - self) in visual form.
6. Sinosphere
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
You look at YOURSELF (己) in the mirror and realize you ALREADY (已) finished all your work early!
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
己
jǐselfDoes not extend past the top fold.
巳
sì6th earthly branchThe bottom stroke remains open and does not close up.
已
yǐalreadyThe right vertical stroke protrudes all the way through the top.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
己(jǐ)
己 stops short inside, while 已 (already) pokes its head out the top.
巳(sì)
巳 is completely open at the bottom, whereas 已 is closed.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
他[___]经到公司了。
Clue: yǐ
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the stroke length with 己 (jǐ), which changes the meaning completely from 'already' to 'oneself'.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see the character 已 with the top stroke poking out, what does it mean?
Production: How do you write the word for 'already' (yǐ) starting from the base character for 'self' (jǐ)?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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已yǐalready
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