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过来 (guò lái) — to come over; can manage to handle (as a complement after a verb, negated with 不)

Definition

过来 is a direction complement meaning 'come over (toward the speaker)'. After a verb it means 'can manage to' (看得过来), negated with 不 — different from 上来, which means 'come up' and pairs with direction 上.

verb
to come overcan manage to handle (as a complement after a verb, negated with 不)

Examples

  • 过来，！
    Kuài guò lái, shàng kè le!
    Come over quick, class is starting!
  • 。
    Zhè xiē shū wǒ kàn bú guò lái.
    I can't manage to read all these books.
  • 过来？
    Nǐ shén me shí hou guò lái?
    When are you coming over?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

过guòpass
来láicome

过 means pass and 来 means come; together they picture something moving over toward the speaker.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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 →

Grammar

Appears in
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