HanTrace

来

lái
HSK 1

“To come” in Chinese is 来 (lái).

Other characters with the syllable lai: see all 2 →

Meaning

  • to come
  • (used as a substitute for a more specific verb)
  • hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5])
Show 6 more meanings
  • ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3 yi3 lai2])
  • for the past (amount of time)
  • prefixthe coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lai2 shi4])
  • (between two verbs) in order to
  • (after a round number) approximately
  • (used after 得[de2] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tan2 de5 lai2], or after 不[bu4] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chi1 bu5 lai2])

Example

新月出来了。

The new moon came out.

From 出来 · Example sentence from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0).

Stroke Order

7 strokes

Words containing 来

出来chūláito come outHSK 1回来huíláito return; to come backHSK 1进来jìnláito come inHSK 1来到láidàoto arrive; to comeHSK 1起来qǐláito stand up; to get upHSK 1带来dàiláito bringHSK 2过来guòláito come overHSK 2后来hòuláiafterwards; laterHSK 2

More HSK 1 characters

爱àito love; to be fond of; to likeHSK 1八bāeightHSK 1爸bàfatherHSK 1吧babar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc)HSK 1白báiBai ethnic groupHSK 1百bǎihundredHSK 1班bānteam; class; gradeHSK 1半bànhalfHSK 1帮bāngto helpHSK 1包bāoto coverHSK 1

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