Usage of '이미'
'이미' is an adverb meaning 'already' and is used to indicate that something has happened before the current moment or earlier than expected. It often emphasizes that an action or state is completed or known.
Common contexts
You will frequently hear '이미' in everyday conversations when talking about past actions, completed events, or known facts. It can be used with verbs in past or present perfect contexts.
Collocations and patterns
- 이미 + verb (past tense): to express that an action has already been done.
- 이미 알고 있다: to already know something.
- 이미 늦다: to be already late.
Register and nuance
'이미' is neutral and can be used in both formal and informal speech. It adds a nuance of inevitability or that something cannot be changed because it has already happened.
Common learner mistake
Learners sometimes confuse '이미' with '벌써' (also meaning 'already'). '이미' often stresses completion or inevitability, while '벌써' can express surprise or impatience about the timing. For example, '이미 갔어요' states a fact, while '벌써 갔어요?' can express surprise that someone left so soon.