Chinese–EnglishWith examples

来

lái · lai

Traditional 來

Meaning

CC-CEDICT

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 (huílai))
ever since (as in 自古以來 / 自古以来 (zìgǔ yǐlái))
for the past (amount of time)
(prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世 / 来世 (láishì))
(between two verbs) in order to
(after a round number) approximately
(used after 得 (dé) to indicate possibility, as in 談得來 / 谈得来 (tándelái), or after 不 (bù) to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來 / 吃不来 (chībulái))

2 examples

我(wǒ)们(men)的(de)老(lǎo)师(shī)总(zǒng)是(shì)准(zhǔn)时(shí)来(lái)上(shàng)课(kè)。

Our teacher is always on time for class.

Tatoeba: Chinese by nickyeow · English by CK · CC BY 2.0 FR. Simplified Chinese conversion; Pinyin added or corrected.

你(nǐ)做(zuò)你(nǐ)的(de)部(bù)份(fèn), 其(qí)他(tā)的(de)我(wǒ)来(lái)做(zuò)。

You do your part and I'll do the rest.

Tatoeba: Chinese by Martha · English by Swift · CC BY 2.0 FR. Simplified Chinese conversion; Pinyin added or corrected.

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Definitions adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG and its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Pinyin display and entry grouping have been adapted.