How to Write 已 (yǐ) — Meaning “already”

Imagine a snake that has already finished coiling up — the curved hook of 已 looks like the snake's body, and the top and bottom lines are its starting and ending points. You can also think of the sound 'yǐ' as 'yee', and tell yourself, 'Yee, it's already done!'

The stroke order is: 1. top horizontal, 2. vertical hook (curving gently to the right), 3. bottom horizontal. A common mistake is making the vertical hook too straight or too long; it should be a smooth, moderate curve. Also, the top horizontal is slightly shorter than the bottom horizontal, so don't write them equal in length.

The key difference is at the top: 已 has a separate horizontal stroke at the top, while 己 has a continuous stroke that goes across and then bends down — 己's top is 'closed'. For meaning, 已 means 'already', 己 means 'self' (as in 自己), and 㠯 is an ancient character rarely used today, so you will mostly need to identify 已 vs 己.

已 is most often seen in common words like 已经 (already) and 已婚 (married), where it functions as an adverb or adjective prefix. It is rarely used alone, but appears in the expression 而已 at the end of a sentence to mean 'that's all' or 'nothing more', which adds a casual or dismissive tone.

Common words containing 已 include: 已经 (yǐ jīng) — already; 已婚 (yǐ hūn) — married; 而已 (ér yǐ) — That's all / Nothing more.