已经
yǐjīng
The 'already' that can refuse and marvel at once
The picture A checkbox on a list already crossed off, nothing left to handle on that line. 已经 is the box already ticked; 还没 is the box still empty.
Where the picture shows up in 已经
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the meal line, ticked
我已经吃过饭了，谢谢。
wǒ yǐ jīng chī guo fàn le, xiè xie
I have already eaten, thank you.
A hand lightly blocking the one offered to you while patting your own stomach once
过 and 了 come along to press 'the eating is done' in again.
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the clock line, ticked
已经十点了，快睡吧。
yǐ jīng shí diǎn le, kuài shuì ba
It is already ten o'clock, go to sleep.
A wall clock whose hands are past ten and a hand reaching up to the light switch
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the person line, ticked
他已经走了，你来晚了。
tā yǐ jīng zǒu le, nǐ lái wǎn le
He has already left — you came too late.
A colleague's open palm pointing at an empty chair and a cleared desk
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a tick drawn over the glass
够了，已经够了。
gòu le, yǐ jīng gòu le
That is enough, really enough.
A palm laid flat over the cup as the pot tips toward it
Common where a refusal has to stay polite.
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the height mark, ticked
孩子已经长这么高了。
hái zi yǐ jīng zhǎng zhè me gāo le
The child has already grown this tall.
A child's head standing well above last year's pencil mark on the wall
All of it in one picture
已经 is a tick already made. Ticked on the meal line, it becomes please do not offer again; ticked on the clock line, it becomes past bedtime. Ticked on a person, he has gone; ticked over your glass, it is a gentle refusal; ticked on the height mark, it becomes wonder at how the child has grown. The 了 at the end of the sentence drives the same nail in once more.