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元来

yuán láidictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
variant of 原來|原来[yuán lái]
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-cb5e8c60e7532ff9. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

元來 元来 [yuan2 lai2] /variant of 原來|原来[yuan2 lai2]/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 元來

  • 元
    yuán

    currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan) / (bound form) first / original / primary / (bound form) basic / fundamental / (bound form) constituent / part / (prefix) meta- / (math.) argument / variable / era (of a reign) / (Tw) (geology) eon

    Yuán

    surname Yuan / Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)

  • 来
    lái

    to come / (used as a substitute for a more specific verb) / hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[huí lai]) / ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zì gǔ yǐ lái]) / for the past (amount of time) / (prefix) the coming ... / the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lái shì]) / (between two verbs) in order to / (after a round number) approximately / (used after 得[dé] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tán de lái], or after 不[bù] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chī bu lái])

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.