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来

lái

to come

Usage note

“来”表示从别的地方移动到说话人的方向。它常常用在请别人靠近或表示动作的方向。

“lái” biǎoshì cóng bié de dìfang yídòng dào shuōhuà rén de fāngxiàng. Tā chángcháng yòng zài qǐng biérén kàojìn huò biǎoshì dòngzuò de fāngxiàng.

This word means to move toward the speaker. It is often used to invite someone to come closer or to show the direction of an action.

Context note

“来”表示人或事物向说话人的方向移动，属于动作类词语。

“lái” biǎoshì rén huò shìwù xiàng shuōhuà rén de fāngxiàng yídòng, shǔyú dòngzuò lèi cíyǔ.

The word '来' indicates movement of a person or thing toward the speaker, and it belongs to the topic of actions.

5 examples

他来了。
tā lái le。
He came.
我们去公园来玩吧。
wǒ men qù gōng yuán lái wán ba。
Let's go to the park to play.
你过来一下。
nǐ guò lái yí xià。
Come over here please.
妈妈来了。
mā ma lái le。
Mom came.
我们一起吃晚饭来吧。
wǒ men yì qǐ chī wǎn fàn lái ba。
Let's have dinner together.

5 mini stories

妈妈在厨房喊我。我放下玩具，跑过去。我来帮妈妈洗菜。
Māma zài chúfáng hǎn wǒ. Wǒ fàngxià wánjù, pǎo guòqù. Wǒ lái bāng māma xǐ cài.
Mom called me from the kitchen. I put down my toy and ran over. I came to help Mom wash vegetables.
校车停在门口。小明背好书包，笑着出门。他快步走来，上了车。
Xiàochē tíng zài ménkǒu. Xiǎomíng bēi hǎo shūbāo, xiàozhe chūmén. Tā kuàibù zǒu lái, shàngle chē.
The school bus stopped at the gate. Xiaoming put on his backpack and went out with a smile. He walked over quickly and got on.
爷爷从老家寄来一个盒子。我打开一看，里面是甜甜的枣子。枣子带着香味来我家了。
Yéye cóng lǎojiā jì lái yīgè hézi. Wǒ dǎkāi yī kàn, lǐmiàn shì tiántián de zǎozi. Zǎozi dàizhe xiāngwèi lái wǒ jiā le.
Grandpa sent a box from our hometown. I opened it and saw sweet dates inside. The dates came to my home with a lovely fragrance.
下雨了，我没带伞。好朋友小美跑来，把伞举到我头上。她说：“我来和你一起走。”
Xià yǔ le, wǒ méi dài sǎn. Hǎo péngyou Xiǎoměi pǎo lái, bǎ sǎn jǔ dào wǒ tóushàng. Tā shuō: “Wǒ lái hé nǐ yīqǐ zǒu.”
It started raining and I didn't have an umbrella. My good friend Xiaomei ran over and held her umbrella over my head. She said, 'I came to walk with you.'
宠物店来了一只小黄猫。我蹲下来看它，它也看我。小猫慢慢走来，蹭了蹭我的手。
Chǒngwù diàn láile yī zhī xiǎo huáng māo. Wǒ dūn xiàlái kàn tā, tā yě kàn wǒ. Xiǎo māo mànman zǒu lái, cèngle cèng wǒ de shǒu.
A little yellow cat came to the pet shop. I crouched down to look at it, and it looked back at me. The kitten slowly came over and nuzzled my hand.

Mini dialogue

请进

A
请进，快进来！
Qǐng jìn, kuài jìn lái!
Please come in, come in quickly!
B
谢谢，我来了。
Xiè xiè, wǒ lái le.
Thank you, I'm coming.

一起玩

A
你愿意来我家玩吗？
Nǐ yuànyì lái wǒ jiā wán ma?
Would you like to come to my house to play?
B
好的，我马上来。
Hǎo de, wǒ mǎshàng lái.
Okay, I'll come right away.

Related words and contrasts

opposite
去
qù
go

来 means come (towards the speaker); 去 means go (away from the speaker).

related
回
huí
return; come back

回 means to return to a place, often used with 来 as 回来 (come back).

similar
过来
guò lái
come over

过来 is a compound verb meaning come over here, adding direction to 来.

Explore more words

好 / hǎo说 / shuō去 / qù到 / dào做 / zuò上 / shàng看 / kàn别 / bié