已

See also: 己 and 巳

已 U+5DF2, 已 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5DF2 ← 己 [U+5DF1] CJK Unified Ideographs 巳 → [U+5DF3]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

已 (Kangxi radical 49, 己+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 尸山 (SU) or 難尸山 (XSU), four-corner 1771₇, composition ⿻コ乚)

Usage notes

This character is not to be confused with visually similar but unrelated 己 or 巳.

Derived characters

• 𠖰, 𡉏, 𡴾, 𢩽, 𨑓, 𤣱, 𥝗, 𫧟, 𬜒, 𧿆, 𩨕, 𩝮, 𬀺, 𥮄
• 𤏁 (Exception: Only for Taiwan character form as Hong Kong character contains 己 instead)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 326, character 11
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 8743
• Dae Jaweon: page 630, character 11
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 984, character 1
• Unihan data for U+5DF2

Chinese

simp. and trad.		已

Glyph origin

May have originally been the same character as 巳, a pictogram (象形) of either a snake or a fetus. This character cannot be found in the Shuowen Jiezi.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yǐ (yi³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ji⁵
• Gan (Wiktionary): i³
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): yí
• Eastern Min (BUC): ī
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): í

  (Teochew, Peng'im): in²

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵i

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yǐ
    • Zhuyin: ㄧˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yǐ
    • Wade–Giles: i³
    • Yale: yǐ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yii
    • Palladius: и (i)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: ji⁵
    • Yale: yíh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ji⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: yi⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiː¹³/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: i³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i²¹³/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yí
    • Hakka Romanization System: i`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yi<sup>3</sup>
    • Sinological IPA: /i³¹/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yí
    • Hakka Romanization System: (r)i`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yi³
    • Sinological IPA: /(j)i³¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: ī
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i³³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: í
    • Tâi-lô: í
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ie
    • IPA (Xiamen): /i⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /i⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /i⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /i⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /i⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: in²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: íⁿ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ĩ⁵²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵i
    • MiniDict: i^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²i
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /i³⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: yiX, yiH

Rime
Character	已	已
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	以 (36)	以 (36)
Final (韻)	之 (19)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	羊己切	羊吏切
Baxter	yiX	yiH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/jɨX/	/jɨH/
Pan Wuyun	/jɨX/	/jɨH/
Shao Rongfen	/ieX/	/ieH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/jɨX/	/jɨH/
Li Rong	/iəX/	/iəH/
Wang Li	/jĭəX/	/jĭəH/
Bernard Karlgren	/iX/	/iH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yǐ	yì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ji5	ji6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*ɢ(r)əʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*lɯʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	已
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	yǐ
Middle Chinese	‹ yiX ›
Old Chinese	/*ɢ(r)əʔ/
English	cease; already
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	已
Reading #	1/1
No.	14924
Phonetic component	已
Rime group	之
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	以
Old Chinese	/*lɯʔ/
Notes	巳轉註字

Etymology 1

Etymology not clear (Schuessler, 2007). The “already” sense is lexicalized from the verb “to finish; to complete”, and gradually became more common than 既 (OC *kɯds), the older word for “already”, in the mid- to late first millennium BCE (Pulleyblank, 1995).

Definitions

已

1. to stop; to finish

   • 任重而道遠。仁以為己任，不亦重乎？死而後已，不亦遠乎？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     任重而道远。仁以为己任，不亦重乎？死而后已，不亦远乎？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

     Rèn zhòng ér dào yuǎn. Rén yǐwèi jǐ rèn, bù yì zhòng hū? Sǐ érhòu yǐ, bù yì yuǎn hū? [Pinyin]

     [His] duty is heavy and [his] way is far. He takes benevolence to be his duty; is that not heavy indeed? [His duty] is completed [only] when he dies; is that not far indeed?

   • 此水幾時休，此恨何時已。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     此水几时休，此恨何时已。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Song Dynasty, 李之儀, 《卜算子·我住長江頭》

     Cǐ shuǐ jǐshí xiū, cǐ hèn héshí yǐ. [Pinyin]

     When will the river cease to flow? When will this brooding end?

2. already; have done something

   • 年已七十矣。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Nián yǐ qīshí yǐ. [Pinyin]

     He was already seventy years old.

   • 若已食則退，若未食則佐長者視具。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     若已食则退，若未食则佐长者视具。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE

     Ruò yǐ shí zé tuì, ruò wèi shí zé zuǒ chángzhě shì jù. [Pinyin]

     If they have eaten already, they should retire; if they have not eaten, they will [remain to] assist their elder [brothers and sisters] and see what has been prepared.

   • 情義已失去，恩愛都失去 [Literary Cantonese, trad.]
     情义已失去，恩爱都失去 [Literary Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 1983, 陳百強, 《偏偏喜歡你》

     cing⁴ ji⁶ ji⁵ sat¹ heoi³, jan¹ oi³ dou¹ sat¹ heoi³ [Jyutping]

     Friendship has already gone, and all of the love is gone

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 已經 (“already”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		已, 業, 業已, 既
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		已經, 已, 業經, 業已, 已然
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	已經, 已竟, 已就
	Taiwan	已經
	Singapore	已經
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	已經
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	已經
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	可價
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	已經
	Wuhan	已經
	Guilin	已經
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	已經
	Hefei	已經
Cantonese	Guangzhou	已經, 經已
	Hong Kong	已經, 經已
	Taishan	經已
	Yangjiang	應
	Singapore (Guangfu)	已經
Gan	Nanchang	已經
Hakka	Meixian	既經
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	既經
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	既經, 已經
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	既經
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	既經
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	既經
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	已經
Huizhou	Jixi	已經
Jin	Taiyuan	已經
Northern Min	Jian'ou	已經
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	已經
	Matsu	已經
Southern Min	Xiamen	已經
	Quanzhou	已經
	Zhangzhou	已經
	Taipei	已經
	Kaohsiung	已經
	Singapore (Hokkien)	已經
	Manila (Hokkien)	已經
	Chaozhou	已經
	Shantou	已經
	Jieyang	已經
	Pontianak (Teochew)	已經
Wu	Shanghai	已經
	Suzhou	已經
	Wenzhou	已經
Xiang	Changsha	現是, 已經
	Shuangfeng	已經, 既已經

Etymology 2

Possibly a fusion of 也 (OC *laːlʔ) and 矣 (OC *ɢlɯʔ), explaining why the latter is never found after the former (Pulleyblank, 1995).

Definitions

已

1. (Classical) Used after predicates, especially noun predicates, to express a new realization by the speaker. Compare 矣 (yǐ), which is used similarly but only after verbs. Sometimes expanded to 也已 or 也已矣, which are synonymous.

   • 然則王之所大欲可知已。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     然则王之所大欲可知已。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Ránzé wáng zhī suǒ dà yù kě zhī yǐ. [Pinyin]

     Then, what your Majesty greatly desires may be known.

   • 入其境，其田疇穢，都邑露，是貪主已。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     入其境，其田畴秽，都邑露，是贪主已。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Xunzi, c. 3^rd century BCE

     Rù qí jìng, qí tiánchóu huì, dōuyì lù, shì tān zhǔ yǐ. [Pinyin]

     If, upon entering the borders, the fields are in poor condition and the towns are exposed, one can tell that this is the [realm of] a covetous ruler.

Compounds

• 一夔已足 (yīkuíyǐzú)
• 不已 (bùyǐ)
• 不得已 (bùdéyǐ)
• 不為已甚／不为已甚 (bùwéiyǐshèn)
• 不能自已 (bùnéngzìyǐ)
• 低徊不已
• 勢不得已／势不得已
• 喋喋不已
• 墓木已拱 (mùmùyǐgǒng)
• 壯心不已／壮心不已
• 大勢已去／大势已去 (dàshìyǐqù)
• 大勢已定／大势已定
• 大局已定
• 已去
• 已婚 (yǐhūn)
• 已定 (yǐdìng)
• 已往 (yǐwǎng)
• 已故 (yǐgù)
• 已決／已决 (yǐjué)
• 已然 (yǐrán)
• 已甚 (yǐshèn)
• 已矣
• 已知數／已知数
• 已經／已经 (yǐjīng)
• 已而 (yǐ'ér)
• 已而不登
• 已還／已还
• 必不得已
• 悶悶不已／闷闷不已
• 情非得已 (qíngfēidéyǐ)
• 斃而後已／毙而后已
• 方寸已亂／方寸已乱
• 日已銜山／日已衔山
• 早已 (zǎoyǐ)
• 有加無已／有加无已
• 木已成舟 (mùyǐchéngzhōu)
• 業已／业已 (yèyǐ)
• 死而後已／死而后已 (sǐ'érhòuyǐ)
• 為時已晚／为时已晚 (wéishíyǐwǎn)
• 無已／无已 (wúyǐ)
• 生生不已
• 病已成勢／病已成势
• 萬不得已／万不得已 (wànbùdéyǐ)
• 米已成炊 (mǐyǐchéngchuī)
• 紛爭不已／纷争不已
• 羽翮已就
• 羽翼已成
• 而已 (éryǐ)
• 芳魂已杳
• 誅求無已／诛求无已
• 諾已／诺已
• 貪求無已／贪求无已
• 迫不得已 (pòbùdéyǐ)
• 逼不得已

 

References

• “已”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

已

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names)

Readings

• Go-on: い (i)
• Kan-on: い (i)
• Kun: すでに (sudeni, 已に); やむ (yamu, 已む); のみ (nomi, 已)
• Nanori: み (mi)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
已
い Jinmeiyō
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 已 (MC yiX|yiH).

Affix

已(い) • (i) 

1. already
2. Alternative form of 以 (i)

Derived terms

May be replaced with 以 in some compounds, e.g. 已降→以降.

Compounds

• 已(い)然(ぜん) (izen)
• 已(い)然(ぜん)形(けい) (izenkei)
• 已(い)上(じょう) (ijō)
• 已(い)下(か) (ika)
• 已(い)己(こ)巳(み)己(き) (ikomiki)
• 已(い)前(ぜん) (izen)
• 已(い)降(こう) (ikō)
• 已(い)後(ご) (igo)
• 已(い)来(らい) (irai)
• 生(しょう)滅(めつ)滅(めつ)已(い) (shōmetsumetsui)

Korean

Hanja

已 • (i) (hangeul 이, revised i, McCune–Reischauer i)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

已: Hán Nôm readings: dĩ, dãi

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.