来 / 來
lái
Meaning
- to come
- used as a substitute for a more specific verb
- hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回来 huí lai)
- ever since (as in 自古以来 zì gǔ yǐ lái)
- for the past (amount of time)
- the coming ... · the next ... (as in 来世 lái shì)
- in order to
- approximately
- used after 得 dé to indicate possibility, as in 谈得来 tán de lái, or after 不 bù to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不来 chī bu lái
Example sentences
我知道你会来的！
wǒ zhī dao nǐ huì lái de！
I know that you will come!
我不是来了吗？
wǒ bù shì lái le ma？
I came, didn't I?
你是什么时候来的？
你是什麼時候來的？
nǐ shì shén me shí hou lái de？
When did you get here?