TraceHanzi

原来 meaning in English

yuánlái

original; former; originally; formerly; at first

HSK 2adjectiveadverbTraditional 原來17 strokes

Meaning of 原来

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

yuánlái
  1. original; former
  2. originally; formerly; at first
  3. so, actually, as it turns out

How to use 原来

原来 has two main uses. It can mean "originally" or "former," as in 我原来住在北京 (wǒ yuánlái zhù zài Běijīng) "I originally lived in Beijing." It also expresses sudden realization, like 原来是你 (yuánlái shì nǐ) "Oh, so it was you."

原 (yuán) means origin or source, and 来 (lái) means to come. Together they point to where something came from at the start, so 原来 is "the way it was originally."

Common mistake: Learners often read the second syllable with a neutral tone as in 回来 (huílai), but in 原来 it keeps its full second tone: yuánlái. Also, do not write 原 with the similar-looking 愿 (yuàn, to wish), which adds 心 underneath.

原来 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ们men还hái以yǐ为wéi是shì谁shuí呢ne。原yuán来lái是shì您nín呀ya！
We were wondering who it was, and it turns out that it was you!
原yuán来lái你nǐ是shì这zhè样yàng想xiǎng的de。
Ah, so that is your thinking!
把bǎ书shū放fàng回huí它tā原yuán来lái的de地dì方fāng。
Put the book back where it was.
把bǎ书shū放fàng回huí原yuán来lái的de地dì方fāng。
Put the book back where you found it.
我wǒ醒xǐng来lái，发fā现xiàn原yuán来lái一yī切qiè都dōu是shì场chǎng梦mèng。
I awoke to find everything had been a dream.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

原 yuán · former · 10 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10

来 lái · to come · 7 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7

Related words

Words that share a character with 原来.

回来huíláito return; to come back
起来qǐláito stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2]
出来chūláito come out; to appear
进来jìnláito come in
来到láidàoto arrive; to come
过来guòláito come over; to manage
原因yuányīncause; origin
带来dàiláito bring; (fig.) to bring about; to produce
来自láizìto come from (a place); From: (in email header)
后来hòuláiafterwards; later; newly arrived
接下来jiē xiàláito accept; to take
越来越yuè lái yuèmore and more

Questions about 原来

What does 原来 mean?

原来 (yuánlái) means "original; former; originally; formerly; at first" and is used as a adjective and adverb.

How do you write 原来?

原来 is made of 2 characters: 原 (10 strokes), 来 (7 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.

Is 原来 an HSK word?

Yes. 原来 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 原来 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 原来 is written 原來.

What is the difference between 原来 and 本来?

Both can mean "originally," but only 原来 expresses discovering the truth, as in "so that's how it is." 本来 can also mean "of course, naturally," which 原来 cannot.

Can 原来 go before a noun?

Yes. As an adjective it can modify a noun with 的, for example 原来的计划 (yuánlái de jìhuà) "the original plan."

舒服Previous in HSK 2shūfu