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往来 (wǎng lái) — to go back and forth; to come and go; to have dealings or contacts (with each other)

Definition

往来 means both physical coming-and-going and having social or business dealings. Compare 往返 and 来回, which are purely about trips/movement with no 'dealings' sense.

verb
to go back and forthto come and goto have dealings or contacts (with each other)

Examples

  • 往来。
    Dì tiě zhàn lǐ rén qún wǎng lái bú duàn.
    Crowds of people constantly come and go in the subway station.
  • 往来。
    Zhè liǎng jiā gōng sī yǐ jīng wǎng lái duō nián le.
    These two companies have had dealings for many years.
  • ，往来。
    Tā men suī rán zhù dé hěn jìn, dàn hěn shǎo wǎng lái.
    Although they live very close, they rarely have contact with each other.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

往wǎnggo
来láicome

'往' and '来' mean going and coming, together expressing coming and going or dealings.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
王
王wáng往wǎng
Same sound today

The form that became 往 paired 止, a foot, with 王 for the sound; a stepping part was later added, and the right side changed.

Open 往 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Friends & Social

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