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とっくに (tokkuni) Japanese meaning: long ago | Kotomora
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かれ
は
とっく
に
帰かえ
り
まし
た
。
He went home a long time ago.
That problem has already been solved.
Usage patterns とっくに 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 ている to have already done ~ long ago (and the state still holds)
I finished my homework long ago.
とっくに 〈 事こと 〉 を 知し っている to have known something for a long time already
I already knew about that a long time ago.
とっくに 〈 時とき 〉 を 過す ぎている to be well past a certain time already
The deadline has long since passed.
Related words もう simply means 'already' and is neutral about how long ago, while とっくに adds emphasis that it happened well before now.
ずっと前に literally states 'a long time ago' but is less emphatic about completion, whereas とっくに stresses that the action is already finished and its result still holds.
既に is a more formal, neutral word for 'already', while とっくに is more colloquial and adds a stronger sense of 'long since'.
とっくに is a colloquial way to say something happened long ago, while 最早 emphasizes that a critical stage has now been reached, not how long ago it happened.
Don't confuse with とっさに means 'instantly, on the spur of the moment', which is nearly the opposite timing nuance from とっくに ('long ago, well before now'), despite the similar sound.
Etymology Derived from 疾く (とく, 'quickly') with gemination and the particle に, yielding an adverbial form meaning 'already long ago'. The exact historical development is uncertain.
