已 (yǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “already”. It is written from ㇕ and 一 (one) and ㇉, and takes 3 strokes.
Build the character for “already”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇕ + 一 + ㇉
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode U+5DF2 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (横折、横、竖弯钩)
Memory aid
A turning stroke (㇕) on top, a short horizontal (一) tucked under it, and one long bent hook (㇉) sweeping around the bottom — three strokes and 已 is already done.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
3 strokes
In real words
- 已经yǐ jīngalready已 = yǐ
Go deeper
All readings
already
already; to stop; to finish
表示事情完成或时间过去；也表示停止、完毕。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 已经yǐ jīngalready已 = yǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 已 mean?
已 (yǐ) means already; to stop; to finish.
How do you pronounce 已?
It is pronounced yǐ.
What parts is 已 made of?
㇕ and 一 (one) and ㇉. The recorded source is: Unicode U+5DF2 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (横折、横、竖弯钩). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 已 have?
3. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 已?
己. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 已?
Common ones are 已经. The reading of 已 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.