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原来

yuán lái

Old HSK 4 HSK 3.0 level 4 2-character word Traditional 原來

原来 (yuán lái) means "it turns out (that); originally". It is an HSK 3.0 level 4 word, and was HSK 4 in the old six-level list.

What 原来 means

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

The characters in 原来

• 原yuánformer; original; primary
• 来láito come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb)…

Example sentences

• 原来如此！
  So that's how it is!
• 原来如此。
  I see.
• 原来你很倔。
  Originally, you were very stubborn.
• 原来都是假的。
  So it was all a lie.
• 他坚持原来的计画。
  He adhered to the original plan.
• 原来你是这样想的。
  Ah, so that is your thinking!

Words starting with 原来

• 原来如此yuán lái rú cǐ(idiom) so that's how it is; I see

Sounds the same

Read yuán lái, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 元来variant of 原来

Where 原来 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Modal & certainty adverbs (HSK 4), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 4 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read yuán lái correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.