Taxonomy of meanings for 已:　　

Additional information about 已

說文解字:

Criteria
• EXCESSIVE
  

  1. The standard word for excessive intensity of anything is tài 太／泰.

  2. Yǐ3 已 is an archaic adverb meaning "excessively".

  3. Shèn 甚 can come to refer to excessive intensity or degree of anything, and the very is syntactically quite versatile.

  4. Yín 淫 stresses the aspect of indulgence often inherent in excessiveness.

  5. Guò 過 often, but not always, focusses on the aspect of transgression in excessiveness.

• STOP
  

  1. The standard current word for ceasing in an activity is zhǐ 止 (ant. xíng 行 "carry on with"), and this word can to any concrete or abstract activity; the ceasing may be final or temporary.

  2. Definitive discontinuation, often of inanimate processes, is yǐ 已 (ant. zuò 作 "break into action"). See FINISH.

  3. Bà 罷 is to deliberately discontinue a course of action one is embarked on, particularly a military action.

  4. Ceasing in a human activity, for a while, is xí 息 and the somewhat rarer xiū 休 (all ant. zuò 作 "break into action").

  5. Jué 絕 (ant. jì 繼 "continue") is to disrupt one's current (human) activity, and fèi 廢 (ant. qín 勤 "continue to make a serioues effort") is to discontinue such an acitivity permanently.

  6. Shě 舍 (often negated) is to relent in a certain activity.

  7. Chuò 輟 (ant.* láo 勞 "put in a continued honest effort") is temporary discontinuation of human action.

  8. Zhì 滯 can be used to refer to the involuntary discontinuation in an activity.

  9. Xiē1 歇 refers to the discontinuation of a process (like that of worrying).

• AGREE TO
  

  [ASCENDING/HORIZONTAL/DESCENDING]

  [EXPLICIT/IMPLICIT]

  [FORMAL/INFORMAL]

  [MENTAL/PRACTICAL]

  [REACTIVE/SPONTANEOUS]

  1. Nuò 諾 (ant. yǐ 已 "be unwilling") expresses a general agreement to do what is asked of one, and this is the most common word which can be used both by superiors and by inferiors when expressing agreement.

  [EXPLICIT], [FORMAL], [REACTIVE]

  2. Wéi 唯 (ant. fǒu 否 "refuse") expresses an unquestioning agreement directed at superiors to do what is asked of one.concerning a major undertaking by means of a mutual promise.

  [ASCENDING], [EXPLICIT], [FORMAL], [REACTIVE]

  3. Qī 期 refers to the entering into a typically non-hierarchical agreement concerning any form of common action by means of a mutual promise.

  [EXPLICIT], [HORIZONTAL], [INFORMAL], [SPONTANEOUS]

  4. Yuē 約 refers to the entering into a voluntary binding agreement of any kind between equals.

  [EXPLICIT], [FORMAL], [HORIZONTAL], [SPONTANEOUS]

  5. Kěn 肯 (ant. jù (ér bù shòu) 拒（而不受 ) "refuse to accede to a request") refers to a willingness to do what one might refuse to do.

  [IMPLICIT], [MENTAL]

  6. Cóng 從 "do as one is told" (ant. cí 辭 "refuse") can refer to an agreement by a superior to do as is being suggested by an inferior rather than the obeying itself. See OBEY

  [IMPLICIT], [PRACTICAL], [REACTIVE]

• MODAL PARTICLES
  

  也 is judgmental and judgmentally descriptive, never narrative: "it is the case that; the point is that"矣 narrative or narratively descriptive and marks to a currently new, currently relevant or currently conditioned narrative statement.已 is judgmental as well as emphatic or definitive: "definitively!, definitely"而已 is decisive and exclusive of alternatives: "and that is all".耳 is a less emphatic 而已.爾 is a scribal variant for 耳 and writes the same word.哉 is emphatic and marks emotionally charged statements: "!".夫 =否乎 is tentative and marks statements the truth of which is held to open to doubt: "n'est-ce pas?"

• DECIDE
  

  1. The most common general word for making a decision is duàn 斷, which emphasis the definitiveness of what has been decided on, but speaks of the process by which that final decision is being reached rather than the result as such.

  2. Jué 決 focusses on the the result as such, and the word can be used about decisons already made where duàn 斷 seems excluded. ( 事已決 not: 事已斷矣 )

  3. Dìng 定 refers to the fixing something not only for oneself but primarily for others. See FIX

  4. Cái 裁 refers to the action of making a public decision as taken by a person in authority.

• ALREADY
  

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  1. Yǐ 已 (ant. wèi 未 "not yet") is the general current word for "already", and this word can precede nominal predicates ( 在位已十年矣 "for already 10 years" analysed as vadN), jì 既 cannot be so used.

  [GENERAL]

  2. Jì 既 (ant. wèi 未 "not yet") is limited to subordinate clauses, yǐ 已 has no such limitations of distribution in this respect. Jì 既 can only be used in front of VPs expressing a clearly concluded development which the word declares to have been completed; yǐ 已 can also mark that something has already STARTED. See also AFTERWARDS

  [SPECIFIC]

• DISMISS
  

  1. The standard bureaucratic general term for dismissal from office is miǎn 免.

  2. Yǐ 已 is a polite periphrastic word for dismissal.

  3. Fèi 廢 refers informally to dismissal from office.

  4. Bà 罷 is a Han dynasty administrative term for dismissal.

  5. Chì 斥 refers to dismissal followed by banishment. See BANISH

• FUTURE
  

  1. The current general word for the immediate future is jiāng 將 (ant. yǐ 已 "already") which refers freely to any part of the future, distant or imminent.

  2. Qiě 且 (ant. jì 既 "already") refers to immiment and immediate future. See SOON.

  3. Yù 欲 comes to be used as a neutral indicator of the likely future so that we are not likely to find bì yù 必欲 ever coming to mean "will surely, will necessarily".

  4. Yǐ 以 "in order to" is restricted to subordinate clauses and refers specifically to the intended future.

  5. The most current and general word for the nominalised notion of the future is probably lái 來 (ant. wǎng 往 "the past").

  6. Hòu 後 (ant. qíán 前 "earlier times") often refers to what comes afterwards, the future.

  7. Wèi 未 "not yet" is sometimes -very rarely- used as a noun to refer to the future. NB: yǐ 已 is never used as an antonym.

• CURE
  

  1. The general-use current word for curing patients of illnesses is zhì/chí 治.

  2. Chōu 瘳 refers to a cure taking effect, and this word is often used in nominalised ways.

  3. The result of successful therapy is standardly yù 愈 / 瘉, yǐ 已.

  4. Chú 除 refers to getting rid of the disease.

  5. Gōng 攻 is the standard word describing an attempt at curing a disease.

  6. Jiǔ 灸 is a specific ancient medical technique, that of cauterisation.

  7. Tán 彈 is to prick open with a needle.

  8. Zhēn 針 / 鍼 is needle therapy which is not necessarily to be identified with anything like acupuncture as we know it today.

  9. Yī 醫 focusses on the professional aspect of medical treatment as depending on trained specialisation.

• INTENSELY
  

  1. The current general word referring to high degree of something or intensity of the application of a predicate is shèn 甚 (ant.* post-Buddhist (NANBEICHAO) lŸè 略 "slightly").

  2. Yǐ 已 and dà 大 refer to an extreme degree. See also EXCESSIVE

  3. Zhì 至 and jí 極 refers to the ultimate or extreme high degree of something, but the meaning of jí 極 was weakened by Han times times to something like the general meaning of shèn 甚.

  4. Zuì 最 refers to the largest degree or highest intensity within a given set compared. See MOST.

  5. Jìng 勁 and jí 疾 add the notion of vigour to that of intensity of degree.

  6. Hòu 厚 typically refers to a high degree or high intensity of something positive.

  7. Zhòng 重 freely refers to an impressive intensity beyond expectation of both positive or negative qualities or actions.

  8. Tòng 痛 refers specifically to a high degree of feelings or emotions.

• THEREUPON
  

  [BRIEF/LONG]

  [DRAMATIC/UNDRAMATIC]

  [EMPHATIC/UNEMPHATIC]

  [NOUN/VERB/PARTICLE/CLAUSE]

  1. The current general word for "thereupon" is yú shì 於是 "at that point, then, thereupon" with its expanded variant yú shì hū 於是乎, but these expressions do not allow for any long delay.

  2. Yǒu jiān 有間 (ant.* xuǎn 旋／還 "without delay", dùn 頓 "immediately, without hesitation") refers to a brief interval of a certain time which ensues, and after which something new happens in the narrative sequence.

  [BRIEF], [UNDRAMATIC], [UNEMPHATIC]; [CLAUSE]

  3. Yǒu qǐng 有頃 (ant. è ér 俄而 "without delay", lì 立 "without delay") is "after a while" and the interval is perhaps a little longer than in yǒu jiān 有間, and this expression also refers to a plain narrative sequence.

  [BRIEF], [UNDRAMATIC], [UNEMPHATIC]; [CLAUSE]

  4. Yǐ ér 已而 (ant. qián cǐ 前此 "before this point in time") refers with emphasis to a longer than expected interval after a certain time.

  [LONG], [DRAMATIC], [EMPHATIC]; [PARTICLE]

  5. Jū 居 (as in jū sān yuè 居三月 "after three months") and the rarer chǔ 處 serve simply to indicate a specified interval after a certain time after which something else happens.

  [VERB], [UNDRAMATIC], [UNEMPHATIC]

  6. Jì 既 (ant. wèi jí 未及 "before even...") focusses dramatically on the fact that an action B does not occur before the action A is completed.

  [BRIEF], [DRAMATIC], [EMPHATIC]; [PARTICLE]

  7. Rán hòu 然後 (ant. yǐ qián 以前 "before") emphasises that an event occurs no sooner than after a certain event or space of time. See ONLY THEN.

  [BRIEF], [DRAMATIC], [EMPHATIC]; [PARTICLE]

  8. Ér hòu 而後 (ant. yǐ qián 以前 "before") emphasises that an event occurs no sooner than after a certain event or space of time. See ONLY THEN.

  [BRIEF], [EMPHATIC]; [PARTICLE]

  9. Xū yú 須臾 stresses that an event occurred immediately after another.

  [BRIEF+]; [nadS]

  10. Hòu 後 (ant. qián 前 "before") is a general word indicating that something happens later than something else.

Word relations
• Ant: (ALREADY)且/IMMEDIATELY The most current and general word referring to something being about to happen in the immediate future is qiě 且 1 Attribution
• Ant: (STOP)為/ACT Wéi 為 (ant. wú wéi 無為 "not engage in purposeful and result-orientated self-assertive action") focusses not on the act itself but primarily on the results achieved or aimed for. [OCCASIONAL], [PURPOSEFUL] 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (STOP)止/STOP The standard current word for ceasing in an activity is zhǐ 止 (ant. xíng 行 "carry on with"), and this word can to any concrete or abstract activity; the ceasing may be final or temporary.