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

• 乱来(亂來) to act recklessly; to mess around
• 嗟来之食(嗟來之食) to feed without offering respect; to insult with charity
• 来由(來由) origin ; reason; cause
• 向来(向來) always; all along ; afterwards ; just now
• 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
• 由来(由來) origin
• 一直以来(一直以來) in the past always; for a long time now; until now
• 往来(往來) to come and go; to return ; to associate with; to be friends with
• 来年(來年) next year
• 礼尚往来(禮尚往來) proper behavior is based on reciprocity; to return politeness for politeness
• 继往开来(繼往開來) to follow the past and open up to the future
• 自来水管(自來水管) water mains; service pipe; tap-water pipe
• 自来水(自來水) tap water
• 下不来台(下不來臺) to be put on the spot; to find oneself in an awkward situation
• 反过来(反過來) conversely; in reverse order; in an opposite direction
• 来讲(來講) as to; considering; for
• 少年夫妻老来伴(少年夫妻老來伴) husband and wife in youth, companions in old age
• 希伯来(希伯來) Hebrew; Jewish
• 不请自来(不請自來) to turn up without being invited; unsolicited
• 机不可失，时不再来(機不可失，時不再來) Opportunity knocks but once.
• 来不得(來不得) cannot allow (to be present); cannot admit
• 本来(本來) original ; it goes without saying; of course ; originally
• 问所从来(問所從來) asked where he had come from
• 去来(去來) to go
• 来火儿(來火兒) to get angry
• 鉴往知来(鑒往知來) to observe the past to foresee the future (idiom, taken loosely from Book of Songs)
• 仙客来(仙客來) cyclamen
• 从实招来(從實招來) to own up to the facts
• 往来帐户(往來帳戶) current account (in bank)
• 熙来攘往(熙來攘往) a place buzzing with activity
• 来苏糖(來蘇糖) lyxose
• 风雨欲来(風雨欲來) storm clouds approach; troubles lie ahead
• 舶来品(舶來品) imported goods; foreign goods
• 马来人(馬來人) Malay person or people
• 来电答铃(來電答鈴) ringback tone (heard by the originator of a telephone call)
• 直来直往(直來直往) blunt; outspoken
• 推来推去(推來推去) to make all kinds of excuses
• 邻曲时时来(鄰曲時時來) often the neighbours come
• 年以来(年以來) since the year ...
• 来归(來歸) to return; to come back ; to divorce
• 一般说来(一般說來) generally speaking; in general
• 比来(比來) lately; recently
• 来福线(來福線) rifling (helical grooves inside the barrel of a gun)
• 严格来说(嚴格來說) strictly speaking
• 飞来横祸(飛來橫禍) sudden and unexpected disaster
• 自古以来(自古以來) since ancient times

Also contained in

西沙差那来 、 来义 、 金刚如来拳 、 阿来 、 阿不来提·阿不都热西提

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
• 《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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 匪来 (匪來) 匪來貿絲 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 國風‧衞‧氓 Lessons from the states - Odes of Wei - Mang — count: 2
• 肯来 (肯來) 惠然肯來 — The Book of Songs 詩經, 國風‧邶‧終風 Lessons from the states - Odes of Bei - Zhong Feng — count: 2