来

lái

Pinyin
lái
Pinyin (Plain)
lai
Tone
2
Strokes
7
Radical
木
Readings
láilaiTone: 2to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3 yi3 lai2]); for the past (amount of time); (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lai2 shi4]); (between two verbs) in order to; (after a round number) approximately; (used after 得[de2] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tan2 de5 lai2], or after 不[bu4] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chi1 bu5 lai2])Order: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 529 635 Q 590 645 655 653 Q 716 663 725 671 Q 735 678 730 688 Q 723 701 695 710 Q 664 717 633 708 Q 584 695 533 682 L 483 673 Q 401 660 308 657 Q 271 653 296 634 Q 341 606 395 617 Q 438 624 484 629 L 529 635 Z", "M 321 517 Q 346 492 372 462 Q 384 450 398 449 Q 408 449 413 461 Q 417 474 412 501 Q 405 531 320 560 Q 307 564 300 563 Q 296 559 296 548 Q 297 538 321 517 Z", "M 637 574 Q 615 540 572 490 Q 565 483 571 475 Q 578 474 587 478 Q 671 530 712 550 Q 731 554 727 565 Q 721 581 702 602 Q 683 621 660 624 Q 644 624 645 604 Q 646 589 637 574 Z", "M 542 376 Q 555 377 847 377 Q 869 376 874 385 Q 881 398 863 413 Q 809 456 768 449 Q 677 433 527 413 L 484 409 Q 337 396 166 379 Q 144 378 160 359 Q 175 343 193 337 Q 215 330 233 335 Q 330 359 439 368 L 542 376 Z", "M 481 326 Q 481 161 456 68 Q 444 29 471 -34 Q 478 -52 486 -55 Q 493 -62 500 -53 Q 507 -49 518 -28 Q 528 -3 526 29 Q 525 69 526 356 L 527 413 Q 527 602 529 635 L 533 682 Q 537 722 547 756 Q 556 772 553 785 Q 546 795 490 829 Q 466 845 445 830 Q 441 826 447 809 Q 483 757 483 673 L 484 629 Q 487 548 484 409 L 481 326 Z", "M 439 368 Q 432 349 414 325 Q 359 250 297 199 Q 245 153 139 89 Q 120 76 137 73 Q 167 67 269 118 Q 336 161 405 229 Q 448 274 474 315 Q 477 321 481 326 C 515 380 464 424 439 368 Z", "M 526 356 Q 616 221 733 77 Q 752 53 787 53 Q 905 52 943 57 Q 953 60 956 65 Q 957 71 941 79 Q 785 142 732 186 Q 644 265 542 376 C 522 398 509 381 526 356 Z"]
Meaning
“来” most often means “to come” (movement toward the speaker or a reference point), as in “他来了” – “He has come.” It’s also used after a verb to show direction toward the speaker (e.g., 拿过来 “bring it over”) and in some patterns to mean “from (a time)” or “since” (e.g., 从小到大以来 “from childhood up to now”).
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 3/24/2026, 5:24:17 PM

Usage

“来” is one of the first characters learners meet and its core idea is “to come (toward the speaker or a reference point).” As a verb, it appears in very common patterns like 来了 (has come/arrived), 你来不来？(Are you coming or not?), and 过来 / 进来 / 回来 (come over / come in / come back). It can mark movement toward the speaker both physically (他从北京来 – He comes from Beijing) and in time (春节快要来了 – Spring Festival is coming). In spoken Mandarin it’s extremely frequent in invitations and suggestions: 来，我帮你 (Here, let me help you), or 来喝点儿水 (Come have some water). Learners also see “来” as a helper word in grammar patterns. It can function like “in order to” or “to do (something)” after a verb: 去超市买东西来 (go to the supermarket to buy things), or 拿笔来写字 (take a pen to write). It’s common in result or quantity expressions such as 吃不来 (not be able to get used to eating [something]) and 三天来 (in/over the past three days). In casual speech it sometimes softens a request or command—来一个 (I’ll have one [e.g., dish or drink]), 再说一遍来 (say it again, will you?)—so learners quickly notice that “来” carries both the basic meaning “come” and a broader sense of bringing an action about.

Handwriting Notes

来 in handwriting is usually compact and slightly wider than tall, with a clear horizontal emphasis: you see a top “cap,” a central crossing area, and a base. In neat, printed-style writing, it tends to look close to the standard font: the top is a short horizontal stroke, the middle consists of intersecting strokes that form a sort of “cross with feet,” and the bottom spreads a little to give the character balance. The overall feel is symmetrical and centered, so it’s easy to spot on a page. In everyday handwriting, people often simplify or loosen the structure. The top stroke may be shorter, slanted, or even merged visually with the middle area if written quickly. The central crossing lines can become more flowing and curved, and some writers let the vertical and diagonal elements fuse into a single, slightly hooked motion. The bottom strokes may be shorter or less clearly separated, making the handwritten form look more like a compact, rounded shape than the neatly “stepped” print version. Despite these variations, the basic “top–center–bottom” layout remains stable enough that both humans and AI handwriting recognition systems can reliably identify 来 from a wide range of personal styles and levels of neatness.

Description

来 is a common Chinese character meaning “to come” or indicating movement toward the speaker, as in 来这儿 (“come here”). It is also used as a verb suffix to show a movement or action toward the speaker (拿起来 “pick it up”). In modern simplified Chinese it is written 来; the traditional form is 來.

Common Words

  • 来lai2to come
  • 来客lai2 ke4guest
  • 来讲lai2 jiang3as to
  • 来宾lai2 bin1guest
  • 来头lai2 tou2cause

Example Sentences

我喜欢来。

wo3 xi3 huan5 lai2

I like to come.

来客很常见。

lai2 ke4 hen3 chang2 jian4

来客 is very common.

我们在学习来讲。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 lai2 jiang3

We are learning as to.

这个来宾很重要。

zhe4 ge5 lai2 bin1 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This guest is important.

请写一下“来”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 lai2

Please write '来'.

Try writing this character