How to say "already" in Japanese

• もうJLPT N5approx.Common
  adverbThe everyday word for 'already'; it also covers 'yet' in questions and negatives, as well as 'by now'. It is the default in ordinary conversation, such as asking whether someone has already eaten.
  彼かれはもう帰宅きたくしました。↗

  He has already gone home.
• すでにJLPT N3approx.Common
  adverbThe plain, neutral 'already': it states flatly that something has already happened or is already the case. It suits reports, announcements, and matter-of-fact explanation.
  バス停ばすていに着ついた時とき、バスはすでに出でていた。↗

  The bus had already left when I got to the bus stop.
• もはやJLPT N1approx.Common
  adverbCovers 'already; now' with a rhetorical edge: it frames the present as a point things have moved on to, beyond how they were. It suits reflective statements about how things have changed.
• 早はやCommon
  adverbGlossed 'already; now; by this time', its 'already' is really the 'by this time' kind, and it is seldom the word you want for plain 'already'; prefer もう or すでに.
• かねてJLPT N1approx.Common
  adverb, no-adjectiveIts 'already' is really 'previously; for some time': it presents something as having been the case for quite a while before now, so it is seldom the word for plain 'already'.

Choose 「もう」 for everyday 'already' and 'yet', 「すでに」 for plain neutral 'already', 「もはや」 for an 'already' that signals things have changed, 「かねて」 for what has held for some time, and treat 早 as a marginal choice.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• もうalready
• すでにalready
• もはやalready
• 早はやalready
• かねてpreviously
• とっくにlong ago
• 早くもはやくもalready
• 早いものではやいものでalready
• かねがねsince long ago
• ただでさえeven at the best of times
• とうにlong ago
• かねてからsince some time ago
• たださえeven at the best of times
• かねてよりpreviously
• 前々からまえまえからfor a long time
• そろそろalready
• 先刻せんこくalready
• 疾くとくlong ago
• てば(I told you) already