已经
yǐjīng · HSK 2
already
✅ 已 (already) + 经 (passed through) = already gone through
已 means 'already/stop' and 经 means 'pass through/experience'. Together 已经 marks an action that has already passed. Common pairing: 已经 + verb + 了 (e.g. 已经吃了 = already ate).
已 — snake/fetus 巳 variant, with top opened
Originally a pictograph related to 巳 (a coiled fetus or snake form), 已 was distinguished by opening the top stroke. In ancient texts it came to mean 'to stop, cease, finish,' and by extension 'already.' The graphic split from 巳 and 己 helped fix its modern sense as a marker of completed action.
经 — silk radical 纟 + 巠 (underground stream)
Originally written 經, combining the silk radical 糸 with 巠, depicting vertical threads on a loom. The core meaning was 'warp threads,' which extended to 'pass through,' 'classic text,' and 'manage.' The phonetic 巠 also suggests the sound.