Meaning

• verb 动词 to come

'To come' — movement toward the speaker, the opposite of 去. Also common in invitations: 来我家吧 'come to my place'.

• (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

Examples