adverbial N2 common casualwritten
とっくに — long ago / already
とっくに
Meaning
- long ago / already (well before now) — stressing that something happened much earlier than the listener assumes
Often mildly impatient or matter-of-fact — 'that's old news; it happened way earlier than you think.'
Key sentence
その仕事はとっくに終わったよ。
That job was done ages ago.
Examples
彼ならとっくに帰ったよ。
He left long ago.
そんなことはとっくに知っている。
I've known that for ages.
Easily confused with
See とっくに in real sentences
Jengo shows とっくに the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.