(lái) - to come in Mandarin
láiTraditional: 來
Translation
to come
Word origin
来 means to come. It was originally a pictograph of a wheat or barley plant with its hanging ears, later borrowed for the verb to come; simplified from 來.
- Origin
- pictograph
- Root
- 来 (lái), originally a stalk of wheat
Stroke order
来
Examples
？
When are you coming?
！
Welcome to China!
。
He came from Shanghai.
，。
Another cup of coffee, please.
。
Let me introduce myself.
来 (lái) is the counterpart to 去 (qù, to go), indicating movement toward the speaker or a reference point. As a directional complement appended to other verbs, 来 signals movement toward the speaker: 拿来 (bring here), 进来 (come in), 上来 (come up). This directional complement system is a key feature of Mandarin verb grammar.
The simplified character 来 and its traditional form 来 both derive from a pictograph of a wheat or barley plant. The word originally meant "wheat arriving" (i.e., the harvest coming), and its meaning generalised to "to come." It appears in many common expressions including 来得及 (lái de jí, to have enough time) and 将来 (jiānglái, the future).
Appears in 27 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 来.
Used in
Stories
(17)你去吗？
1 min read · Core 1000
点错了
2 min read · Core 1000
错过公车
3 min read · Core 1000
大伟的工作
3 min read · Core 1000
看医生
3 min read · Core 1000
迷路
3 min read · Core 1000
上班第一天
3 min read · Core 1000
新的医生
3 min read · Core 1000
新邻居
3 min read · Core 1000
一起做饭
3 min read · Core 1000
最后的车
3 min read · Core 1000
今年去哪里
4 min read · Core 1000
卖东西的地方
4 min read · Core 1000
错过的火车
5 min read · Core 5000
等了三年
5 min read · Core 5000
都变了
5 min read · Core 5000
想起那个约定
5 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(25)Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
Approximation and Rounding in Mandarin: 左右, 大概, 差不多, 几 and 来 for About, Around and Roughly
Mandarin Aspect Markers: 了, 在/正在, 过 - the System That Replaces Tense
The Mandarin 把 (bǎ) Construction: Fronting the Object to Say What You Did To It
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Mandarin Co-verbs: 从, 到, 在, 用, 坐, 给 - the Prepositions That Look Like Verbs
Mandarin Complements: 得 for Manner, Directional Endings, and How to Attach a Result to a Verb
Compound Directional Complements in Mandarin: Verb + 起来, 下去, 过来, 出来 and Motion Relative to the Speaker
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Mandarin Conjunctions: 虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果…就 and the Paired Structures That Join Clauses
Figurative Directional Complements in Mandarin: 起来, 下去 and 出来 Beyond Up, Down and Out
The Mandarin Durative 着 (zhe): Marking a State That Continues (门开着, 拿着书, 笑着说)
Mandarin Existential and Presentative Sentences: 有, 出现, 发生 and Why New Things Go After the Verb
The Experiential 过 (guò) in Mandarin: Saying You Have Ever Done Something
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
Mandarin Modal Verbs: 会, 想, 要, 应该, 可以, 能 and the Future-Intent Words 打算, 准备
Mandarin Negation: 不 (bù) vs 没 (méi), and Why 不有 Does Not Exist
Mandarin Possession with 的 (de): My, Your, His, and When Mandarin Drops the Particle
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Relative Clauses with 的 (de): How the Modifier Goes Before the Noun
Mandarin Requests and Imperatives: 请, 别, 不要, the Softening Particles 吧/啊, and Verb Reduplication
Serial Verb Constructions in Mandarin: 我去商店买东西 and Stacking Verbs in Sequence
The Mandarin 是…的 (shì...de) Construction: Highlighting When, Where, and How Something Happened
The Three de in Mandarin: 的, 得, and 地 and How to Tell Them Apart
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 1.