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 。 (with a verb phrase)Wǒ yǐjīng yǒu nánpéngyou le. I already have a boyfriend.
• 宝宝 已经 会 说话 了。(with a verb phrase)Bǎobao yǐjīng huì shuōhuà le. The baby can already speak.
• 妈妈 已经 回来 了。(with just a verb)Māma yǐjīng huílái le. Mom has already come back.
• 他 已经 上 飞机 了。(with a verb phrase)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 piányi le.It is already very cheap.
• 你女朋友 已经 很 漂亮 了！ Nǐ nǚpéngyou 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, yet 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. He has already been in the bathroom for half an hour.

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 tā lǎopo 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