已 (yǐ): already, to stop, then
已 (yǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “already.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 己 (self). It ranks #117 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Definitions
- already
- to stop
- then
Stroke Order
Practice writing 已 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 已
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 已经adverb | yǐ jīng | already | 2 |
| 早已adverb | zǎo yǐ | for a long time | 5 |
| 不已verb | bù yǐ | (used after a verb) endlessly | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 而已particle | ér yǐ | that's all |
| 已婚adjective | yǐ hūn | married |
| 不得已adjective | bù dé yǐ | to act against one's will |
| 已故verb | yǐ gù | the late |
| 为时已晚phrase | wéi shí yǐ wǎn | already too late |
| 已然adverb | yǐ rán | already |
| 迫不得已phrase | pò bù dé yǐ | to have no alternative (idiom) |
| 木已成舟phrase | mù yǐ chéng zhōu | lit. the timber has been turned into a boat already (idiom) |
| 不得已而为之phrase | bù dé yǐ ér wéi zhī | to have no other choice |
| 业已adverb | yè yǐ | already |
| 久已adverb | jiǔ yǐ | long ago |
| 年事已高 | nián shì yǐ gāo | old in years |
| 则已 | zé yǐ | (literary) used in expressions of the form 不 + (verb) + 則已|则已 ... "either don't (verb) at all, or if yo... |
| 赞叹不已 | zàn tàn bù yǐ | (idiom) to be full of praise and admiration |
| 死而后已phrase | sǐ ér hòu yǐ | until death puts an end (idiom) |
已 appears in 48 compound words: 23 as the first character, 52 as the last, and 25 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 已 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
to not go too far; to refrain from going to extremes; to never go beyond reasonable limits
flourishing and still in the ascendant (idiom); rapidly expanding; still growing strong; on the up
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 已.
Example Sentences
了解已字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè yǐ zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origin of the character "已" helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
雷军公布新一代SU7赤霞红配色,此前已开启小订
léi jūn gōng bù xīn yī dài S U 7 chì xiá hóng pèi sè , cǐ qián yǐ kāi qǐ xiǎo dìng
Lei Jun announced a new generation of SU7 Caxia Red color scheme, which has been opened for small orders
没有你想的那么光鲜 有些冬奥选手已私下在做一事
méi yǒu nǐ xiǎng de nà má guāng xiān yǒu xiē dōng ào xuǎn shǒu yǐ sī xià zài zuò yī shì
Not as glamorous as you think Some Winter Olympians are already doing something in private
正论:留港消费情已逝 出境外游按年升
zhèng lùn : liú gǎng xiāo fèi qíng yǐ shì chū jìng wài yóu àn nián shēng
Commentary: Consumption in Hong Kong is gone, and outbound travel is increasing year-on-year
广东今年HPV免疫规划疫苗已开打 13岁女孩可免费接种
guǎng dōng jīn nián H P V miǎn yì guī huá yì miáo yǐ kāi dǎ 1 3 suì nǚ hái kě miǎn fèi jiē zhǒng
Guangdong's HPV immunization program vaccine has been launched this year, and 13-year-old girls can be vaccinated for free
你已经见过史密斯先生了吗？
Nǐ yǐjīng jiànguo Shǐmìsī xiānsheng le ma?
Have you already met Mr Smith?
你已经去过夏威夷了吗？
Nǐ yǐjīng qù guo Xiàwēiyí le ma?
Have you ever been to Hawaii?
他在这里已经住了两年了吗？
Tā zài zhèlǐ yǐjīng zhù le liǎng nián le ma?
Has he lived here for two years?
电影已经开始了吗？
Diànyǐng yǐjīng kāishǐ le ma?
Has the movie started?
Character Family
己 Radical Family — Characters sharing the self radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 已 (yǐ) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 已 have?
What is the radical of 已?
What are common words containing 已?
What characters sound the same as 已 (yǐ)?
Is 已 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 已 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.