How is 来 pronounced?

来 is pronounced “lái” in pinyin.

What HSK level is 来?

来 belongs to HSK 1 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

How do you write 来?

Follow the stroke-order animation above; 来 is written using standard stroke order. Practice it in the writing trainer.

HSK 1verblocative

来

Traditional: 來

lái

来 (lái) means “to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回来); ever since (as in 自古以来); for the past (amount of time); (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 来世); (between two verbs) in order to; (after a round number) approximately; (used after 得 to indicate possibility, as in 谈得来, or after 不 to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不来)”. It is an HSK 1 Chinese character (traditional 來) in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

Stroke order

Practice writing

Example

他今天来了。

Tā jīntiān lái le.

He came today.

Words containing 来

本来běn láioriginal; originally; at first; it goes without saying; of course 从来cóng láialways; at all times; never (if used in negative sentence)后来hòu láiafterwards; later; newly arrived 起来qǐ laito stand up; to get up; also pr. [qǐ lái]将来jiāng láiin the future; future; the future 出来chū láito come out; to appear; to arise 来不及lái bu jíthere's not enough time (to do sth); it's too late (to do sth)来得及lái de jíto have enough time; can do it in time; can still make it 来自lái zìto come from (a place); From: (in email header)回来huí laito return; to come back 原来yuán láioriginal; former; originally; formerly; at first; so, actually, as it turns out 下来xià laito come down; (completed action marker); (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.); (indicates continuation from the past towards us); to be harvested (of crops); to be over (of a period of time); to go among the masses (said of leaders)

More HSK 1 vocabulary

HSK 1 →

爱àito love; to be fond of; to like; affection; to be inclined (to do sth); to tend to (happen)的deof; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute); (used to form a nominal expression); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); also pr. [dì] or [di] in poetry and songs 八bāeight; 8 爸爸bà ba(coll.) father; dad 了le(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)我wǒI; me; my 杯子bēi zicup; glass 是shìto be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion)你好nǐ hǎohello 北京běi jīngBeijing, capital of the People's Republic of China 你nǐyou (informal, as opposed to courteous 您)在zàito exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)

Frequently asked questions

What does 来 mean?: 来 (lái) means “to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回来); ever since (as in 自古以来); for the past (amount of time); (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 来世); (between two verbs) in order to; (after a round number) approximately; (used after 得 to indicate possibility, as in 谈得来, or after 不 to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不来)”. It is an HSK 1 word.
How is 来 pronounced?: 来 is pronounced “lái” in pinyin.
What HSK level is 来?: 来 belongs to HSK 1 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.
How do you write 来?: Follow the stroke-order animation above; 来 is written using standard stroke order. Practice it in the writing trainer.

Updated: 2026-05-27