Он уже пьян.

In Russian, the verb to be is normally left out in the present tense.

So:

• Он пьян. = He is drunk.
• literally, Russian just says He drunk in the present.

If you talk about the past or future, forms of быть appear:

• Он был пьян. = He was drunk.
• Он будет пьян. = He will be drunk.

Уже means already or by now.

It shows that the state has happened earlier than expected or is true at this point already.

So Он уже пьян suggests something like:

• he has reached that state already
• maybe so soon
• maybe the speaker is surprised, annoyed, or just stating a fact

The exact tone depends on context.

Пьян is the short form of the adjective пьяный.

In Russian, short-form adjectives are often used:

• after the subject
• to describe a current state or condition

So:

• Он пьян. = standard way to say He is drunk
• Пьяный человек = a drunk/drunken person

Very roughly:

• пьяный is the full form
• пьян is the short form, often used in sentences like this

You cannot use пьян before a noun:

• пьяный мужчина = correct
• пьян мужчина = not correct as a drunken man

Yes, but the difference is mostly about style and nuance, not basic meaning.

• Он пьян sounds more like a straightforward statement of his state
• Он пьяный is also common, especially in speech, but can sound a little more descriptive or colloquial

In many everyday situations, both can be understood as He’s drunk.

Still, learners should know that пьян is very natural in this kind of sentence because Russian often uses the short form for temporary states.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but Он уже пьян is the most neutral order.

Why this order works well:

• Он = topic, who we are talking about
• уже = already
• пьян = the new information/state

Other orders are possible, but they change the emphasis:

• Уже он пьян = unusual, marked, very emphatic or literary
• Он пьян уже = possible in speech, often with special emphasis
• Уже пьян? = possible in conversation, meaning something like Already drunk?

So for normal neutral Russian, Он уже пьян is the best model.

It is a short-form adjective.

It agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• он пьян = masculine
• она пьяна = feminine
• оно пьяно = neuter
• они пьяны = plural

This is one reason the form changes depending on who is being described.

Он is the Russian pronoun for he.

Russian pronouns show grammatical gender:

• он = he
• она = she
• оно = it
• они = they

So the sentence is talking about a male person.

Because он is masculine, the short adjective is also masculine: пьян.

Пьян is pronounced approximately like pyan, with one syllable.

A few helpful points:

• the ь does not make its own sound
• it makes the п soft
• the stress is on я

So it is roughly:

• пьян → pyan

Learners often find the combination пь tricky at first, but it gets easier with practice.