Meaning of 出来
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to come out
- to appear
- to arise
- (after a verb, indicates coming out, completion of an action, or ability to discern or detect)
How to use 出来
On its own, 出来 means to come out or appear, moving toward the speaker. After a verb it shows something coming out, getting done, or being figured out, and in that case it is often said with a light tone (chulai). Example: 我听出来了，是你。(Wǒ tīng chulai le, shì nǐ.) I could tell it was you from your voice.
出 (chū) means to go out and 来 (lái) means to come, so 出来 is coming out toward the speaker. Picture someone stepping out of a door and walking toward you.
Common mistake: Learners mix up 出来 and 出去 (chūqù). Use 出来 when the movement is toward the speaker and 出去 when it goes away. If you are outside calling to a friend inside, say 你出来吧 (nǐ chūlái ba), not 出去.
出来 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
出 chū · to go out · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
来 lái · to come · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 出来.
| 回来 | huílái | to return; to come back |
| 起来 | qǐlái | to stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2] |
| 出去 | chūqù | to go out |
| 进来 | jìnlái | to come in |
| 来到 | láidào | to arrive; to come |
| 过来 | guòlái | to come over; to manage |
| 出现 | chūxiàn | to appear; to arise; to emerge; to show up |
| 带来 | dàilái | to bring; (fig.) to bring about; to produce |
| 来自 | láizì | to come from (a place); From: (in email header) |
| 原来 | yuánlái | original; former; originally; formerly; at first |
| 后来 | hòulái | afterwards; later; newly arrived |
| 接下来 | jiē xiàlái | to accept; to take |
Questions about 出来
What does 出来 mean?
出来 (chūlái) means "to come out; to appear".
How do you write 出来?
出来 is made of 2 characters: 出 (5 strokes), 来 (7 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 出来 an HSK word?
Yes. 出来 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 出来 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 出来 is written 出來.
What is the difference between 出来 and 起来 after a verb?
出来 after a verb means something comes out or gets identified, as in 想出来 (xiǎng chulai), to come up with an idea. 起来 often means starting or recalling, as in 想起来 (xiǎng qilai), to remember something you already knew.
Where does the object go with 出来?
A place word goes between 出 and 来, as in 他从房间里走出来 or 走出房间来 (zǒu chū fángjiān lái). A regular object can go before or after 来, as in 拿出一本书来 or 拿出来一本书.