来 (lái) is a Chinese character meaning “to come”. It is written from 未 (not yet; have not) and 丷 (two spreading strokes), and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to come”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
未 + 丷
Overlapping structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分（⿻未丷），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：第 1、4、5、6、7 笔为未，第 2、3 笔为丷
Memory aid
未 means "not yet" — and 丷 drops two small steps onto its shoulders. What is not yet here is already walking toward you: 来, to come.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 进来jìn láito come in; to enter来 = láiHSK 1
- 未来wèi láifuture; the time to come来 = lái
- 从来cóng láialways; all along; (with a negative) never来 = lái
- 归来guī láito come back; to return home来 = lái
- 来往lái wǎngto come and go; contact; dealings来 = láiHSK 4
- 原来yuán láioriginally; so it turns out来 = lái
- 将来jiāng láithe future; in the future来 = lái
- 带来dài láito bring (something or some result) along来 = lái
- 来宾lái bīnguest; visitor来 = lái
- 舶来品bó lái pǐnimported goods来 = lái
Go deeper
All readings
to come
to come; to arrive; to come toward the speaker; coming, next (as in the coming year)
从别的地方到说话人所在的地方；也指将要到的时间。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 进来jìn láito come in; to enter来 = láiHSK 1
- 未来wèi láifuture; the time to come来 = lái
- 从来cóng láialways; all along; (with a negative) never来 = lái
- 归来guī láito come back; to return home来 = lái
- 来往lái wǎngto come and go; contact; dealings来 = láiHSK 4
- 原来yuán láioriginally; so it turns out来 = lái
- 将来jiāng láithe future; in the future来 = lái
- 带来dài láito bring (something or some result) along来 = lái
- 来宾lái bīnguest; visitor来 = lái
- 舶来品bó lái pǐnimported goods来 = lái
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 来 mean?
来 (lái) means to come; to arrive; to come toward the speaker; coming, next (as in the coming year).
How do you pronounce 来?
It is pronounced lái.
What parts is 来 made of?
未 (not yet; have not) and 丷 (two spreading strokes). The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分（⿻未丷），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：第 1、4、5、6、7 笔为未，第 2、3 笔为丷. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 来 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 来?
丿. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 来?
Common ones are 进来 and 未来. The reading of 来 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.