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

• 来之不易(來之不易) not easy to obtain; hard won
• 时不再来(時不再來) Time that has passed will never come back.
• 马来鸻(馬來鴴) Malaysian plover (Charadrius peronii)
• 好起来(好起來) to get better; to improve; to get well
• 马来人(馬來人) Malay person or people
• 受命以来(受命以來) after I accepted my orders
• 鉴往知来(鑒往知來) to observe the past to foresee the future (idiom, taken loosely from Book of Songs)
• 机会带来成功(機會帶來成功) Opportunity brings success.
• 重译来朝(重譯來朝) repeatedly sent emissaries to visit the court
• 悲从中来(悲從中來) sorrow from personal problems
• 马来西亚语(馬來西亞語) Malaysian
• 颠倒过来(顛倒過來) to invert
• 将来(將來) the future ; about to arrive ; to fetch
• 往来(往來) to come and go; to return
• 来宾(來賓) guest; visitor
• 反过来说(反過來說) on the other hand
• 来到(來到) to come; to arrive
• 自来水管(自來水管) water mains; service pipe; tap-water pipe
• 举例来说(舉例來說) for example
• 血债要用血来还(血債要用血來還) A debt of blood must be paid in blood. / Blood calls for blood.
• 严格来说(嚴格來說) strictly speaking
• 全世界人民团结起来(全世界人民團結起來) people of the world unite
• 来苏糖(來蘇糖) lyxose
• 马来西亚令吉(馬來西亞令吉) ringgit
• 慢慢来(慢慢來) take your time; take it easy
• 从来不(從來不) never
• 来集(來集) come to perch
• 我们都是来自五湖四海(我們都是來自五湖四海) we all come from different corners of the land
• 人来人往(人來人往) people coming and people going; many people coming and people going
• 来头(來頭) cause; reason; interest; influence
• 特来(特來) to come with a specific purpose in mind
• 全世界无产者联合起来(全世界無產者聯合起來) Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt euch! / Workers of the world, unite!
• 回来(回來) to return; to come back ; wait on
• 来朝(來朝) tomorrow (morning) ; to visit the imperial court
• 以来(以來) since ; afterwards ; additional; extra
• _来说_(_來說_) as far as ... is concerned
• 什么风把你吹来的(什麼風把你吹來的) What brings you here?
• 问所从来(問所從來) asked where he had come from
• 沈下脸来(沈下臉來) a sinking facial expression
• 招来(招來) to solicit; to attract; to incur
• 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
• 严格来讲(嚴格來講) strictly speaking
• 换来换(換來換) to repeatedly exchange
• 来电答铃(來電答鈴) ringback tone (heard by the originator of a telephone call)

Also contained in

马来 、 各如来名号 、 来义乡 、 林来疯 、 未来世 、 祖师西来意 、 阿来

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: 276
• 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: 105
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 伻来 (伻來) 伻來以圖 — Book of Documents 尚書, 周書 洛誥 Zhou Shu - Announcement concerning Luo — count: 3
• 淮夷来 (淮夷來) 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
• 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
• 方来 (方來) 徐方來庭 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 大雅‧蕩之什‧常武 Greater odes of the kingdom - Decade Of Dang - Chang Wu — 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