Meaning
来 is one of the most fundamental and versatile verbs in Mandarin, primarily meaning 'to come' or 'to arrive.' It serves as the opposite of 去 (to go) and expresses movement toward the speaker or a reference point. Beyond its basic directional meaning, 来 has many grammatical uses, including indicating future actions, suggesting proposals, and serving as a complement after other verbs to show direction.
Usage
Native speakers use 来 constantly in everyday speech. It appears in directional complements (走来 'to walk over'), before verbs to indicate intention or suggestion (来帮忙 'come help'), and in many set phrases. It can also mean 'approximately' when used with numbers, or serve as a casual way to start doing something (来一杯啤酒 'bring/get me a beer'). The tone is typically neutral in some compound structures.
Examples
- 01你什么时候来我家??When are you coming to my house?
- 02快来帮我一下!!Come help me real quick!
Common collocations
- 来不及not have enough time
- 来得及have enough time
- 回来to come back
- 从来always, all along
Antonyms
Origin
The traditional form 來 originally depicted wheat or grain, but through historical phonetic borrowing, it came to represent the verb 'to come.' The simplified form 来 is a completely different character adopted for simplification.