Writing
来 (lái) — how to say "to come" in Chinese
来
To come
verb
Radicals / Keys
木
Tree
#75 · mù · 4 strokes
Collocations
来中国
lái Zhōngguó
to come to China
来北京
lái Běijīng
to come to Beijing
Examples
今天你来北京，我很高兴，我们去商店吧。
Today you came to Beijing, I am very happy, let's go to the store.
我来北京
I came to Beijing.
Mnemonic
[lái-] Lime the alien travels through space, searching for a way to "come" to Earth. He spots the character 来 glowing on his spaceship dashboard 🚀, reminding him of the path he needs to take. Lime's antennae tingle with excitement as he imagines "coming" to meet new friends on Earth!
Frequently asked questions
How to say come in Chinese language?
"to come" in Chinese is 来 (lái).
来 meaning in English
来 (lái) means "To come".
How is 来 pronounced?
It is pronounced lái (written as lai). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "to come" in Chinese characters?
It is written 来 and has 7 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 来?
来 belongs to the HSK 1 vocabulary list.
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Grammar with 来
什么 — question words
什么 (shénme) / 什么时候 (shénme shíhòu) / 谁 (shéi) / 哪儿 (nǎr) / 为什么 (wèishéme) / 怎么 (zěnme)
来 vs 去 — coming and going
来 (lái) / 去 (qù) + Place
会 — will, going to
会 (huì) + Verb
以前 — before a time
Time / Verb + 以前 (yǐqián)
每次 — every time
每次 (měi cì) + Event 1 + 都 (dōu) + Event 2
怎么 — asking why
怎么 (zěnme)⋯⋯？