来
lái
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]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3 yi3 lai2]); for the past (amount of time); (prefix) the 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])
a picture of 来 → grain arriving, like something coming to you
来 is a pictograph of a wheat plant — the strokes above 未 originally depicted hanging grain stalks. Wheat was foreign-grown and had to be brought in, so the image of grain drifting in came to mean 'to come.'
你快来，我们要吃饭了。
nǐ kuài lái , wǒ men yào chī fàn le 。
Come quickly, we are about to eat.
他跑来告诉我这个消息。
tā pǎo lái gào su wǒ zhè ge xiāo xi 。
He came running to tell me this news.
Words with 来
来访者
lái fǎng zhě
visitor
谈得来
tán de lái
to be able to talk to
严格来说
yán gé lái shuō
strictly speaking
古往今来
gǔ wǎng jīn lái
since ancient times
一来
yī lái
firstly, ...
来回
lái huí
to make a round trip
原来如此
yuán lái rú cǐ
(idiom) so that's how it is; I see
周恩来
zhōu ēn lái
Zhou Enlai (1898-1976), Chinese communist leader, prime minister 1949-1976
来宾市
lái bīn shì
Laibin, prefecture-level city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 廣西壯族自治區|广西壮族自治区[Guang3 xi1 Zhuang4 zu2 Zi4 zhi4 qu1]
人来人往
rén lái rén wǎng
(idiom) people coming and going; bustling with activity
外来语
wài lái yǔ
loanword
冒出来
mào chū lái
to emerge; to pop up; to spring forth; to appear from nowhere