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Using 早已 (zǎoyǐ) to express 'long ago' or 'already'
Aspect & Tense
Time Expressions
Structure
Subject + 早已 + Verb/Adjective
Explanation
早已 means "long ago" or "already (a long time ago)" and emphasizes that something happened or became true well before the present moment. It combines 早 (early) with 已 (already), strengthening the sense of prior completion. For example, 他早已知道 means "he knew long ago."
Examples
等你告诉他的时候，他早已离开了。
Děng nǐ gàosù tā de shíhòu, tā zǎoyǐ líkāi le.
By the time you told him, he had already left long ago.
这个消息早已传遍了整个公司。
Zhège xiāoxi zǎoyǐ chuánbiànle zhěnggè gōngsī.
This news had already spread throughout the entire company.
她早已习惯了一个人生活。
Tā zǎoyǐ xíguànle yī ge rén shēnghuó.
She had long since gotten used to living alone.