来 (lái) means "to come" with 7 strokes, radical 木 (tree), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: to come
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
来 was originally a pictograph of a wheat or barley plant, with the stalk in the middle, drooping ears at the top, and leaves on either side. Oracle bone forms clearly show the grain heads bending under their own weight. The character was borrowed very early for the unrelated verb meaning to come, by phonetic loan (假借).
Form evolution
Oracle bone and bronze script versions are recognisably plants, with symmetric leaves. Seal script regularised the form into something close to the traditional 來. Clerical script straightened the curves, and the modern simplified 来 further streamlined the central vertical and the crossing strokes, though the basic four-leaf symmetry of the original plant is still faintly visible.
How the meaning evolved
The original meaning was a species of wheat, which is why the later, more specific character 麥 (simplified 麦) was created to take over that sense, adding 夊 to 來. Meanwhile 来 kept only the borrowed meaning, to come, and from there extended to future time (将来), arrival, and a wide range of directional and aspectual grammar uses. Modern Mandarin rarely shows any trace of the original wheat meaning.
Cultural note
The split between 来 (to come) and 麦 (wheat) is a textbook case of a 本字 being displaced by its own loan: the borrowed meaning stuck so firmly that a new character had to be invented for the original sense. Learners often meet 来 first as a directional complement in verbs like 过来 and 回来, where it adds the nuance of motion toward the speaker.
Mnemonic
Rice arrives from the field — to come
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | lái |
| Meanings | to come |
| Stroke count | 7 strokes |
| Radical | 木 (#75: tree) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2 |
| Frequency | #88 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 来
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 来 | lái | to come | HSK 1 |
| 后来 | hòulái | later | HSK 3 |
| 起来 | qǐlái | get up | HSK 2 |
| 本来 | běnlái | originally | HSK 4 |
| 从来 | cónglái | Always | HSK 4 |
| 将来 | jiānglái | future | HSK 4 |
| 来自 | láizì | Come from | HSK 3 |
| 来不及 | láibují | There's not enough time | HSK 4 |
| 来得及 | láidejí | In time | HSK 4 |
| 原来 | yuánlái | Original | HSK 4 |
| 以来 | yǐlái | Since | HSK 5 |
| 未来 | wèilái | Future | HSK 5 |
| 出来 | chūlái | to come out | HSK 2 |
| 到来 | dàolái | to arrive, arrival | HSK 4 |
Related characters
Similar meaning (action)
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
Appears in these articles
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.