来

Traditional form:

來

Pinyin (reading):

lái

Definitions:

• 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 (huilái))
• ever since (as in 自古以來／自古以来 (zigùyilǎi))
• for the past (amount of time)
• (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世／来世 (láishi))
• (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 (tándélái), or after 不 (bù) to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來／吃不来 (chibulāi))

Characters:

• 来 - to arrive, to come, to return; in the future, later on

Traditional characters:

• 來 - to arrive, to come, to return; in the future, later on