「來」字原來不簡單
「來」is taught in book 2 of Beginning Reader in the Basic Chinese 500 course. It is a word that is easy for children to grasp and remember. You probably think you understand this simple character very well – it means “to come”, right?
Think again.
On one hand, it is a simple character and also a monosyllabic word. However, its many meanings go way beyond “to come”. That is the reason why it’s one of the most often used words. Here, let’s take a closer look at this character: first at where it bears the basic meaning of “from, or to come”, then at where is does NOT bear such meanings.
When it means “FROM / to COME”
Here are a few examples
來信 – incoming letter
來人 – bearer; the person who came
問題來了 – here crop up the problems
When it means more than “FROM / to COME”
Here are some more examples
亂來 – making a mess of something
連日來 / 一個月來 -the pattern here is [time + 來]. It means “recent times, or the time from recent past up to now
十公斤來重 – weighs ABOUT 10 kg
合不來 – do not get along well
起不來 – cannot get up
來得及 – will make it in time vs 來不及 – too late
說不上來 “cannot recall now
趕不起來 – cannot complete it in time
Further Usages
來 to mean something that has happened, that is in the past:
他們打起 ( 架) 來了 – They started a fight.
你說甚麼來？– What did you say just now?
來 to denote consequential moves:
想來好笑 – It is funny when I come to think of it (first > you think, then > you find it funny)
一來… 二來… 三來… – Firstly, … Secondly, … Thirdly,…
There are also cases when來 is used as a preposition, such as:
- 來客 a guest
- 來客 a visitor
- 來臨 the arrival (of)
- 來源 the source
- 後來 afterwards, later
In the above examples, while the other character alone is enough to express the meaning, in modern Chinese, however, it is usually used together with 來, forming a bi-syllabic word.
Let's practice writing
繁體 Traditional Chinese
简体 Simplified Chinese
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© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy and self-teaching abilities. Since 2006. Find out more About Us.
© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy and self-teaching abilities. Since 2006. Find out more About Us.
© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
