来自 meaning in English
to come from (a place); From: (in email header)
Meaning of 来自
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to come from (a place)
- From: (in email header)
How to use 来自
来自 is followed directly by a place or source, with no extra preposition needed. It sounds a bit more formal than 从...来, and it is common in introductions and news. Example: 我来自上海。(Wǒ láizì Shànghǎi.) I come from Shanghai.
来 (lái) means to come, and 自 (zì) means from or self. Put them together and you get "come from," as in where someone or something originally comes from.
Common mistake: Learners often add 从 and say 我来自从中国, but 自 already means "from," so just say 我来自中国. Also do not put the place before 来自, as in 我中国来自. The place always comes after it.
来自 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.
来 lái · to come · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
自 zì · self · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 来自.
| 回来 | huílái | to return; to come back |
| 起来 | qǐlái | to stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2] |
| 出来 | chūlái | to come out; to appear |
| 进来 | jìnlái | to come in |
| 来到 | láidào | to arrive; to come |
| 自己 | zìjǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 过来 | guòlái | to come over; to manage |
| 自由 | zìyóu | freedom; liberty; free; unrestricted |
| 带来 | dàilái | to bring; (fig.) to bring about; to produce |
| 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 来自
What does 来自 mean?
来自 (láizì) means "to come from (a place); From: (in email header)" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 来自?
来自 is made of 2 characters: 来 (7 strokes), 自 (6 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 来自 an HSK word?
Yes. 来自 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 来自 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 来自 is written 來自.
What is the difference between 来自 and 从...来?
Both mean "come from," but the word order differs. You say 我来自美国 with the place after the verb, or 我从美国来 with the place in the middle. 来自 feels more formal, while 从...来 is more conversational.
Can 来自 be used for things, not just people?
Yes. It works for ideas, products, and messages too, for example 这个消息来自网络 (zhège xiāoxi láizì wǎngluò), "this news comes from the internet." In email headers, 来自 is the label for the sender, like "From" in English.