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 already came 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 + 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 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.
• 你 女朋友 已经 很 漂亮 了，你 还 不 满意？ Nǐ nǚpéngyǒu yǐjīng hěn piàoliang le, nǐ hái bù mǎnyì.Your girlfriend is already very beautiful. Are you still unsatisfied?

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 diǎnle, nǚ'ér hái méi huílái.It is already 11 o'clock, my daughter has not returned.
• 他 已经 十 五 岁 了。Nǐ yǐjīng shíwǔ suìle.He is already fifteen years old.
• 今天 已经 星期 五 了。Jīntiān yǐjīng xīngqīwǔle.Today is already Friday.
• 已经 半 个 小时 了。Yǐjīng bàn gè xiǎo shí le.It has already been half an hour.
• 我 学习 中文 已经 一 年 了。Wǒ xuéxí Zhōngwén yǐjīng yī niánle.I have already been studying Chinese for a year.
• 他 去 北京 已经 两 天 了。Tā qù Běijīng yǐjīng liǎng tiānle.It has already been two days since he went to Beijing.
• 已经 十 分钟 了。Yǐjīng shí fēnzhōngle.It has already been 10 minutes.
• 已经 很 长 时间 了。Yǐjīng hěn cháng shíjiānle.It has already been a long time.
• 我 的 女儿 已经 两 岁 了 。 (with an age)Wǒ de nǚ'ér yǐjīng liǎng suì le.My daughter is already two years old.
• 已经 一 个 月 了。 (with a time)Yǐjīng yīgè yuè le.It has already been a month.

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 认识 他 了。Wǒ yǐjīng bù rènshi tā le.I don't know him anymore.
• 我 已经 不 爱 他 了。Wǒ yǐjīng bù ài tā le.I don't love him anymore.
• 他 已经 不 开心 了，别 告诉 他 那 件 事 了。 Tā yǐjīng bù kāixīn le, bié gàosu tā nà jiàn shìle.He is not happy anymore, don't tell him about that thing.
• 你 已经 不 年轻 了。 Nǐ yǐjīng bù niánqīng le.You're not young 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.
• 在 我 心 里，他 已经 不 重要 了。Zài wǒ xīnlǐ, tā yǐjīng bù zhòngyào le. In my heart, he's no longer important.
• 你 已经 不 在 Google 工作 了 吗？ Nǐ yǐjīng bùzài Google gōngzuò le ma?You don't work at Google anymore?
• 他 已经 不 打算 去 加拿大 旅行 了。 Tā yǐjīng bù dǎsuàn qù Jiānádà lǚxíng le.He's no longer planning to travel to Canada.
• 现在 我 已经 不 想 去 了。Xiànzài wǒ yǐjīng bùxiǎng qù le.Now I don't want to go 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