来 (來) lái

1. lái verb to come
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语
   Notes: An intransitive verb indicating motion towards the speaker. For example, 你回来啦！ 'You have come back!' (Lao She, 2003, p. 176) 来 is used in this sense in both modern and literary Chinese (Kroll 2015 '來' 2). 来 is the 11th most frequently used word in the Beijing Language Institute's 1985 frequency wordlist (Ho 2002, '来' 1; Kroll 2015 '來' 2, pp. 250-251; NCCED '来' 1).
2. lái particle indicates an approximate quantity
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Quantity
   Notes: (NCCED '来' 助2)
3. lái verb please
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语
   Notes: (Ho 2002, '来' 3)
4. lái verb used to substitute for another verb
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语
   Notes: (NCCED '来' 5; Ho 2002, '来' 2)
5. lái verb used between two word groups to express purpose and effect
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Spoken Language
   Notes: (Kroll 2015 '來' 4, pp. 250-251; NCCED '来' 9)
6. lái particle ever since
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In this sense, 来 is used after a time expression (Kroll 2015 '來' 3a, pp. 250-251; NCCED '来' 3). For example, 几十年来 'n the last few years.' (VOA, 2015-07-25) This sense is also used in literary Chinese (Kroll 2015 '來' 4).
7. lái noun wheat
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: (Kroll 2015 '來' 1, pp. 250-251)
8. lái adjective next; future
   Domain: Literary Chinese 文言文
   Notes: In the sense of 以来 (Kroll 2015 '來' 3, pp. 250-251; NCCED '来' 1). For example, 来日绮窗前 'In future days in front of the carved window ...' (Wang Wei, Lines in Complete Tang Poems, Scroll 118)
9. lái verb a simple complement of direction
   Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语
   Notes: 来 is used in this sense after a verb or verb phrase to indicate movement towards the speaker (NCCED '来' 5). For example, 一出来 'as soon as he came out ...' (Lao She, 2003, p. 260)
10. lái verb to occur; to arise
    Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语
    Notes: (Kroll 2015 '來' 2a, pp. 250-251; NCCED '来' 4)
11. lái verb to earn
    Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语
    Notes: (NCCED '来' 11)

Contained in

• 绕来绕去(繞來繞去) meandering and circuitous; to go around in circles and never get anywhere
• 以来(以來) since ; afterwards ; additional; extra
• 外来(外來) external; foreign; outside
• 眉来眼去(眉來眼去) eyes and eyebrows come and go; to make eyes; to exchange flirting glances with sb
• 即将来临(即將來臨) imminent
• 人来客往(人來客往) people come and guests go; many guests coming and going
• 人来投主，鸟来投林(人來投主，鳥來投林) people come to help the host, birds come and settle in the forest
• 消息来源(消息來源) web feed; news feed; syndicated feed
• 来势(來勢) momentum of something approaching
• 来回(來回) to make a round trip ; back and forth multiple times
• 看来(看來) apparently; it seems that
• 归来(歸來) to come back ; to go back
• 放马过来(放馬過來) bring it on!; give me all you got!
• 来项(來項) income
• 别来无恙(別來無恙) I trust you have been well since we last met
• 兵来将敌，水来土堰(兵來將敵，水來土堰) counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir; different situations call for different action
• 由来(由來) origin
• 仙客来(仙客來) cyclamen
• 二来(二來) in the second place; secondly
• 来示(來示) your letter
• 反过来说(反過來說) on the other hand
• 心血来潮(心血來潮) to be prompted by a sudden impulse; carried away by a whim; to have a brainstorm
• 自今以来(自今以來) from now on
• 乍来(乍來) at first; first arrival
• 自来水管(自來水管) water mains; service pipe; tap-water pipe
• 礼尚往来(禮尚往來) proper behavior is based on reciprocity; to return politeness for politeness
• 未来学(未來學) future studies
• 来集(來集) come to perch
• 舶来品(舶來品) imported goods; foreign goods
• 来踪去迹(來蹤去跡) the traces of a person's movements; somebody's history; the ins and out of a matter
• 话又说回来(話又說回來) returning to our main topic,...; that said,...; again,...; in this connection; in passing; nevertheless,...
• 古往今来(古往今來) since ancient times; since times immemorial
• 来者不善，善者不来(來者不善，善者不來) He who comes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning will come .; Be careful not to trust foreigners.
• 拼起来(拼起來) to put together
• 来而不往非礼也(來而不往非禮也) not to reciprocate is against etiquette; to respond in kind
• 向来(向來) always; all along ; afterwards ; just now
• 醒来(醒來) to waken
• 机会带来成功(機會帶來成功) Opportunity brings success.
• 尔来(爾來) recently; until now; up to the present; lately
• 毁来性(毀來性) destructive; crushing (defeat)
• 来者不拒(來者不拒) to refuse nobody ; all comers welcome
• 下来(下來) to come down; to descend ; to mix amongst the common people ; to be harvested ; to finish ; indicates gradual reduction ; underside
• 纷至沓来(紛至沓來) to come thick and fast
• 新来乍到(新來乍到) newly arrived
• 前不见古人，后不见来者(前不見古人，後不見來者) unique; unprecedented

Also contained in

不来梅 、 加来海峡 、 乌来乡 、 南卡罗来纳 、 薄熙来 、 西沙差那来遗址

Word is mentioned most frequently in

Truncated for common words

• 卷七十　表第八:　屬國表 Volume 70 Tables 8: Vassal States History of Liao 遼史 — count: 277
• 第二十四回 Chapter 24 Water Margin 水滸傳 — count: 187
• 卷三十九 志第十九: 地理二 Volume 39 Treatises 19: Geography 2 Old Book of Tang 舊唐書 — count: 135
• 第四十五回 Chapter 45 Water Margin 水滸傳 — count: 111
• 卷一百十五　列傳第四十五: 二國外記 Volume 115 Biographies 45: Two Records of Foreign Countries History of Liao 遼史 — count: 105
• 《龜策列傳》 Biographies of Diviners Records of the Grand Historian 史記 — count: 105
• 第四十三回 Chapter 43 Water Margin 水滸傳 — count: 104
• 第二回 Chapter 2 Water Margin 水滸傳 — count: 102
• 第三十九回 Chapter 39 Water Margin 水滸傳 — count: 98
• 第二回 Chapter 74 Dream of the Red Chamber 紅樓夢 — count: 96

Collocations

• 来思 (來思) 今我來思 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 小雅‧鹿鳴之什‧采薇 Minor odes of the kingdom - Decade Of Lu Ming - Cai Wei — count: 9
• 福禄来 (福祿來) 福祿來成 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 大雅‧生民之什‧鳧鷖 Greater odes of the kingdom - Decade Of Sheng Min - Fu Yi — count: 5
• 尸来 (屍來) 公尸來燕來寧 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 大雅‧生民之什‧鳧鷖 Greater odes of the kingdom - Decade Of Sheng Min - Fu Yi — count: 5
• 燕来 (燕來) 公尸來燕來寧 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 大雅‧生民之什‧鳧鷖 Greater odes of the kingdom - Decade Of Sheng Min - Fu Yi — count: 4
• 来燕 (來燕) 公尸來燕來寧 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 大雅‧生民之什‧鳧鷖 Greater odes of the kingdom - Decade Of Sheng Min - Fu Yi — count: 4
• 长夜室来 (長夜室來) 淮夷來求 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 大雅‧蕩之什‧江漢 Greater odes of the kingdom - Decade Of Dang - Jiang Han — count: 3
• 伻来 (伻來) 伻來以圖 — Book of Documents 尚書, 周書 洛誥 Zhou Shu - Announcement concerning Luo — count: 3
• 来止 (來止) 曾孫來止 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 小雅‧甫田之什‧甫田 Minor odes of the kingdom - Fu Tian Zhi Shen - Fu Tian — count: 3
• 后来 (後來) 后來其蘇 — Book of Documents 尚書, 商書 仲虺之誥 Shang Shu - Announcement of Zhong-hui — count: 2
• 来求 (來求) 萬福來求 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 小雅‧甫田之什‧桑扈 Minor odes of the kingdom - Fu Tian Zhi Shen - Sang Hu — count: 2