schon.
already (happening rather early, continuing rather long)
Meaning & usage
already (happening rather early, continuing rather long)
Es ist erst 11 Uhr und schon über 30 Grad im Schatten.
Er ist schon seit drei Wochen krank.
previously, before (at some time in the past; but not: before a certain event)
Ich erinnere mich, dass wir solche Fälle schon hatten.
expresses that an action has been completed; already (but more frequent); yet (in questions)
Wir sind spät dran, aber diesen Stapel haben wir immerhin schon bearbeitet.
Hast du dir schon die Zähne geputzt?
expresses a weighing of arguments, contrast between two statements, partial agreement, concession; admittedly; sure(ly); definitely; indeed
Man sollte Kinder nicht bestrafen. — Man sollte Kinder schon bestrafen, nur eben sinnvoll.
Niedrige Steuern heben den Konsum. — Das ist schon richtig, aber...
Used to add positive emphasis to a verb (which is frequently omitted), often when something else is negated. Compare si/sí/sì/sim in the Romance languages and wel in Dutch and Afrikaans.
Ich rauche nicht, aber du schon.
Mach die Glocke bei mir aus, wenn du weniger am Handy sein willst, aber abonnieren kannst du mich schon.
Where this word comes from
From Middle High German schōne (“beautifully; appropriately; completely”), from Old High German scōno (“beautifully”), adverb of scōni, whence German schön (“beautiful”). For sense development from "beautiful" to "indeed, surely; already" compare English pretty.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.