とっくに
とっくに
adverb
long ago; already (long since)
1.
long ago; already; long since
Emphasizes that something happened or was completed much earlier than the listener might think, stressing that quite a lot of time has already passed.
彼はとっくに帰った。
He left long ago.
その話はとっくに知っているよ。
I've known about that for ages.
締め切りはとっくに過ぎているのに、まだ終わっていない。
The deadline passed long ago, yet it's still not finished.
An emphatic, somewhat casual adverb stressing that something happened well before the present moment. It often carries a nuance of mild surprise or impatience that the listener did not already realize this.
USAGE:
- Frequently paired with verbs in a completed state: とっくに終わった (finished long ago), とっくに過ぎた (passed long ago).
- The fuller form とっくの昔に (long, long ago) is even more emphatic.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- すでに: already — more neutral and formal; lacks the 'much earlier than you think' nuance
- もう: already — neutral; simply marks completion without emphasizing how long ago