Chinese words starting with “lai”
16 words in our HSK vocabulary start with the syllable lai. They are sorted by how common they are, so the ones you are most likely to meet come first. The 2 most useful of them have their own page — they are listed first below.
Initial l · final ai · hear the four tones and see example characters →
- 2nd tone 15
- 4th tone 1
Word counts by tone are counted on the first syllable of each word.
Common words with this syllable
- 来自lái zìHSK 2
to come from (a place); From: (in email header)
- 来到lái dàoHSK 1
to arrive; to come
All 16 words
| # | Word | Pinyin | POS | Meaning | Study list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 来 | lái | v,f,m,u,y | 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) | |
| 2 | 来源 | lái yuán | n | source (of information etc); origin | |
| 3 | 来临 | lái lín | v,vn | to approach; to come closer | |
| 4 | 来不及 | lái bu jí | v | there's not enough time (to do sth); it's too late (to do sth) | |
| 5 | 赖 | lài | v,a | to depend on; to hang on in a place; bad; to renege (on promise); to disclaim; to rat (on debts); rascally; to blame; to put the blame on | |
| 6 | 来电 | lái diàn | v,n | incoming telephone call (or telegram); to phone in; to send in a telegram; to have an instant attraction to sb; (of electricity, after an outage) to come back | |
| 7 | 来信 | lái xìn | n,v | incoming letter; to send us a letter | |
| 8 | 来得及 | lái de jí | v | to have enough time; can do it in time; can still make it | |
| 9 | 来回 | lái huí | v,n,d | to make a round trip; return journey; back and forth; to and fro; repeatedly | |
| 10 | 来往 | lái wǎng | v,vn | to come and go; to have dealings with; to be in relation with | |
| 11 | 来访 | lái fǎng | v,vn | to pay a visit | |
| 12 | 来宾 | lái bīn | n | guest; visitor | |
| 13 | 来源于 | lái yuán yú | v | to originate in | |
| 14 | 来历 | lái lì | n | history; antecedents; origin | |
| 15 | 来年 | lái nián | t | next year; the coming year | |
| 16 | 来龙去脉 | lái lóng qù mài | l | the rise and fall of the terrain (idiom); (fig.) the whole sequence of events; causes and effects |
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