来 lái
- Strokes
- 7
- Radical
- 木 — tree
- Made of
- 未 not yet 丷 horns
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
来历
láilì
origin; background; history
Characters in this word
历 lì
- Strokes
- 4
- Radical
- 厂 — cliff
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 这枚印章的来历一直含糊不清，博物馆暂时不敢公开展出。 Zhè méi yìnzhāng de láilì yìzhí hánhú bù qīng, bówùguǎn zànshí bù gǎn gōngkāi zhǎnchū. The origin of this seal has remained unclear, so the museum does not yet dare to display it publicly.
- 这件旧花瓶的来历很特别，是奶奶留下来的。 Zhè jiàn jiù huāpíng de láilì hěn tèbié, shì nǎinai liú xiàlái de. This old vase has a special history; it was left by Grandma.
- 我们不知道这个陌生人的来历。 Wǒmen bù zhīdào zhège mòshēngrén de láilì. We don't know anything about this stranger's background.
Related words
- 出来 chūlái to come out
- 回来 huílái to come back
- 进来 jìnlái to come in
- 来 lái to come
- 来到 láidào to arrive, to come to
- 起来 qǐlai to get up, to stand up; to start (doing)
- 带来 dàilái to bring; to cause
- 过来 guòlái to come over
- 后来 hòulái later; afterward
- 接下来 jiēxiàlái next; after this
- 来自 láizì to come from
- 原来 yuánlái so it was; originally