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

• 寒来暑往(寒來暑往) cool weather comes when the summer heat goes away
• 兴尽悲来(興盡悲來) after extreme happiness sorrow arises
• 寄来(寄來) to receive in the mail
• 越来越(越來越) more and more
• 毕来(畢來) they all come
• 下来(下來) to come down; to descend ; to mix amongst the common people ; to be harvested ; to finish ; indicates gradual reduction ; underside
• 心血来潮(心血來潮) to be prompted by a sudden impulse; carried away by a whim; to have a brainstorm
• 来路(來路) incoming road; origin; past history
• 用来(用來) to be used for ; since
• 拣起来(揀起來) pick up
• 其来有自(其來有自) there is a reason for it
• 外来物种(外來物種) an introduced species
• 本来面目(本來面目) original appearance; true colors
• 药师如来(藥師如來) Medicine Buddha
• 仙客来(仙客來) cyclamen
• 前无古人后无来者(前無古人後無來者) to surpass all others of its kind before and since; to have neither predecessors nor successors
• 寻来范畴(尋來範疇) derived category
• 绕来绕去(繞來繞去) meandering and circuitous; to go around in circles and never get anywhere
• 来客(來客) guest
• 来去自如(來去自如) unrestrained
• 一觉醒来(一覺醒來) to wake up from a sleep
• 接踵而来(接踵而來) to come one after the other
• 过来(過來) to come over
• 想起来(想起來) to remember; to recall
• 自古以来(自古以來) since ancient times
• 素来(素來) usually; consistently
• 来由(來由) origin ; reason; cause
• 乐极悲来(樂極悲來) extreme happiness turns to sorrow
• 来归(來歸) to return; to come back ; to divorce
• 来鸿去燕(來鴻去燕) the goose comes, the swallow goes; always on the move
• 呼之即来，挥之即去(呼之即來，揮之即去) to come when called; ready and compliant; always at sb's beck and call
• 受命以来(受命以來) after I accepted my orders
• 承不起来(承不起來) unable to sustain something
• 生来(生來) from birth; by one's nature
• 下不来台(下不來臺) to be put on the spot; to find oneself in an awkward situation
• 迎面而来(迎面而來) directly; head-on (collision); in one's face (of wind)
• 历来(歷來) always
• 以来(以來) since ; afterwards ; additional; extra
• 颠来倒去(顛來倒去) to harp on; over and over; merely ring changes on a few terms
• 来回来去地(來回來去地) backwards and forwards
• 空穴来风未必无因(空穴來風未必無因) wind does not come from an empty cave without reason; there's no smoke without fire
• 从实招来(從實招來) to own up to the facts
• 来硬的(來硬的) to get tough; to use force
• 鉴往知来(鑒往知來) to observe the past to foresee the future (idiom, taken loosely from Book of Songs)
• 爱得死去活来(愛得死去活來) to be madly in love
• 悲从中来(悲從中來) sorrow from personal problems

Also contained in

薄熙来 、 惠来县 、 阿来 、 乌来乡 、 怀来县

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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 吹来 (吹來) 吹來的北風多冷啊 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 國風‧邶‧北風 Lessons from the states - Odes of Bei - Bei Feng — count: 2