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来lái

Character evolution

来

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Shuowen

来 (lái) is a pictogram of a barley plant with drooping grain ears, the radical 木 showing it is a cereal plant; the original meaning was “barley,” the grain itself, and the shape depicts the heads of grain hanging from the stalk. In ancient times this grain was a staple crop, and because the harvest arrived each year the character was borrowed to mean “to come” or “to arrive.” The structure of a central stem with horizontal extensions representing the grain-bearing plant explains why the radical is 木.

Pinyin

lái· HSK 1· Radical 木