The character 来 — “come”: how to write it and what it means
come
The Chinese character 来 is read lái and means “come”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 来
来 has 7 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 来, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
Words with 来
- 进来come inHSK 2
- 出来come outHSK 2
- 上来come upHSK 2
- 下来come downHSK 2
- 起来get up, riseHSK 2
- 回来come backHSK 2
- 过来come overHSK 2
- 后来later, afterwardsHSK 3
- 来自come fromHSK 3
- 看来it seems, apparentlyHSK 3
- 原来former; it turns outHSK 4
- 到来arrive, come (of time)HSK 4
- 从来never (with 不 / 没); alwaysHSK 4
- 本来originally; actuallyHSK 4
- 将来futureHSK 4
- 用来be used forHSK 4
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 来?
来 has 7 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 来 mean?
来 means “come”. It appears in 进来 (“come in”), 出来 (“come out”), 上来 (“come up”), 下来 (“come down”).
How do you pronounce 来?
来 is read lái. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 来 have?
7 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 来 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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