1. (lái) to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4gu3 yi3lai2]); for the past (amount of time); (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lai2shi4]); (between two verbs) in order to; (after a round number) approximately; (used after 得[de2] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tan2de5lai2], or after 不[bu4] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chi1bu5lai2])

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