已经...了
Reach for this when you want to say something has 'already' happened or reached a state. 'I've already eaten.' 'He's already gone.' 'It's already been three years.' Use it for completed actions, achieved durations, or states that are now true. The 已经 emphasizes 'sooner than expected' or 'as of now,' and the 了 confirms the change or completion. It's one of the most common chunks in everyday Chinese.
Structure
已经 [VERB / DURATION / STATE] 了
yǐjīng... le
How to Think About It
已经 means 'already'; the closing 了 marks the new state. They're a paired bracket — 已经 sets up the 'as of now' frame at the start, 了 closes it. Drop the 了 and the sentence sounds incomplete ('他已经去' feels truncated); drop the 已经 and you lose the 'already' nuance. Native speakers feel the pair as a unit.
Examples
我已经吃饭了。
Wǒ yǐjīng chīfàn le.
I've already eaten.
他已经走了。
Tā yǐjīng zǒu le.
He's already left.
我学中文已经三年了。
Wǒ xué Zhōngwén yǐjīng sān nián le.
I've been learning Chinese for three years already.
Common Mistake
Learners drop the 了 at the end, thinking 已经 alone carries the 'already' meaning. But Chinese needs the 了 to mark the achieved state — without it, the sentence sounds chopped off.
我已经吃饭。
我已经吃饭了。
Don't Confuse With
...了
Just the 了 marks change or completion. Use bare 了 for any new situation ('我吃饭了' = I've eaten); add 已经 when you specifically want to emphasize 'already.'
还没...呢
The opposite — 'haven't yet.' Use 还没...呢 to deny completion; use 已经...了 to assert it.
曾经...过
'Once / at some point in the past did X.' Marks past experience rather than recent completion. Use 已经...了 when something happened recently and is still relevant; use 曾经...过 for a faraway past experience.
Practice
他 ___ 回家了。
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已经
我已经看完这本书 ___ 。
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了
Put in order: [了 / 我 / 已经 / 八点 / 起床]
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我已经八点起床了。
Translate to Chinese: 'She has already arrived.'
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她已经到了。
Write one sentence using 已经...了 about something you've already done today.
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Example answer: 我今天已经喝了三杯咖啡了。 (I've already had three cups of coffee today.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode: