Expressing "already" with "yijing"

已经……了 (yǐjing... le) is the basic pattern used to express "already" in Chinese. Strictly speaking, the 了(le) here is not absolutely mandatory, but it's usually there in spoken Chinese, so it's best to think of the 了 (le) as a part of the pattern.

Basic Pattern

已经 with Verb Phrase

Structure

The most common structure is to use 已经……了 (yǐjing... le) with a verb phrase.

已经 + Verb / [Verb Phrase] + 了

Examples

• 他们 已经 走 了 。 (with just a verb)Tāmen yǐjīng zǒu le. They've already left.
• 我 已经 有 男朋友 了 。 Wǒ yǐjīng yǒu nánpéngyou le. I already have a boyfriend.
• 宝宝 已经 会 说话 了。(with a verb phrase)Bǎobǎo yǐjīng huì shuōhuà le. The baby can already speak.
• 妈妈 已经 回来 了。Māma yǐjīng huílái le. Mom's already come back.
• 他 已经 上 飞机 了。Tā yǐjīng shàng fēijī le. He's already gotten on the plane.

已经 with Adjective

Structure

Sometimes adjectives or even time nouns are used instead of a typical verb phrase:

已经 + （很）Adj. + 了

Examples

• 爸爸 妈妈 已经 老 了。Bàba māmā yǐjīng lǎo le.Mom and dad are already old.
• 已经 很 便宜 了。Yǐjīng hěn piányí le.It is already very cheap.
• 你女朋友 已经 很 漂亮 了！ Nǐ nǚpéngyǒu yǐjīng hěn piàoliang le! Your girlfriend is already very beautiful!
• 你 的 感冒 已经 好 了 吗 ？ Nǐ de gǎnmào yǐjīng hǎo le ma?Is your cold already better?
• 已经 很 晚 了，我们 走 吧。Yǐjīng hěn wǎn le, wǒmen zǒu ba.It's already really late. Let's go.

已经 with Time noun

Structure

已经 + Time Noun + 了

Examples

• 已经 11点 了，女儿 还 没 回来。Yǐjīng shíyī diǎn le, nǚ'ér hái méi huílái. It is already 11 o'clock, my daughter has not returned.
• 爷爷 已经 八十 五 岁 了。Yéye yǐjīng bāshí wǔ suì le. Grandpa is already eighty-five years old.
• 我 学习 中文 已经 一 年 了。Wǒ xuéxí Zhōngwén yǐjīng yī nián le. I have already been studying Chinese for a year.
• 爸爸 去 北京 出差 已经 两 天 了。Bàba qù Běijīng chūchāi yǐjīng liǎng tiān le. It has already been two days since dad went to Beijing on business trip.
• 他 在 洗手间 里 已经 半 个 小时 了。 Tā zài xǐshǒujiān lǐ yǐjīng bàn ge xiǎoshí le. It has already been half an hour since he went to the bathroom.

Negative Form

Structure

The negative structure simply adds a 不 (bù) after 已经 (yǐjing), and before the verb (or possibly adjective).

已经 + 不 + [Verb Phrase] + 了

Examples

Generally this negative 已经 (yǐjing) structure is translated into English as "not... anymore" rather than using the word "already."

• 我 已经 不 喜欢 你 了。Wǒ yǐjīng bù xǐhuan nǐ le. I don't like you anymore.
• 他 已经 不 爱 他老婆 了。Tā yǐjīng bù ài tālǎopo le. He doesn't love his wife anymore.
• 他们 已经 不 住 在 家里 了。 Tāmen yǐjīng bù zhù zài jiālǐ le. They don't live at home anymore.
• 我 已经 不 需要 父母 的 钱 了。 Wǒ yǐjīng bù xūyào fùmǔ de qián le. I don't need my parents' money anymore.
• 你 已经 不 在 Google 工作 了 吗？ Nǐ yǐjīng bù zài Google gōngzuò le ma? You don't work at Google anymore?

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (p. 612) →buy
• 现代汉语虚词例释 (p. 554) →buy
• New Concept Chinese (新概念汉语　初级本II) (p. 41)→buy
• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (p. 97) →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (p.1609) →buy