进来 (jìn lái) — to come in | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

进来 (jìn lai) is 'come in' — direction is TOWARD the speaker. Use 进 (neutral, no direction) when direction doesn't matter, and 进去 (go in, AWAY from speaker) for the opposite.

verb

to come in

Easily confused

近来jìn láisound-alikerecently; lately

Examples

进来！
Qǐng jìn lái!
Please come in!
。
Tā jìn le jiào shì lái.
He came into the classroom.
进来？
Nǐ shén me shí hou jìn lái?
When are you coming in?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

进jìnenter

来láicome

进 'enter' and 来 'come' combine to show movement toward the speaker.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 進; 进 is its simplified writing.

辵辵chuòwalk
隹隹zhuīshort-tail bird

The traditional form 進 pairs 辵 (walk) with 隹 (short-tail bird): the picture showed moving forward because a bird can only walk forward, not backward. The simplified 进 is a later shorthand.

Open 进 →

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 →