HSK 4 · Function Words

从来 cónglái “always” in Chinese

Traditional 從來

What 从来 means

  1. always
  2. (with a negative) never
  3. at all times
  4. never (if used in negative sentence)

How to say 从来

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale从cóng2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale来lái2nd tone, rising

从来 in a sentence

  1. 我从来没说过我是专家。

    Wǒ cónglái méi shuōguo wǒ shì zhuānjiā.

    I never said I was an expert.

    Sentence #8511430 from Tatoeba

  2. 我们还从来没参加过中国人的婚礼呢。

    Wǒmen hái cónglái méi cānjiā guo Zhōngguórén de hūnlǐ ne.

    We’ve never been to a Chinese wedding before.

    Sentence #397895 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 他几乎从来都不会生气。

    Tā jīhū cónglái dōu bú huì shēngqì.

    He almost never gets angry.

    Sentence #1733231 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 从来 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 从 (cóng) with each of its parts in a different colour
从cóngfrom; through; via
  • 人person · rén
  • 人person · rén

Memory aidOne person 人 following another 人: to follow, from.

The character 来 (lái) with each of its parts in a different colour
来láito come
  • 未part of the character
  • 丷eight form of 八 · bā

Memory aidDrawn from a stalk of wheat. It was borrowed early on for “to come”.

How to write 从来

从 4 strokes · 来 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

从来 (cónglái) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 从来 (cónglái). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 从来

Words with 从

从cóng · from从小cóngxiǎo · from childhood从此cóngcǐ · from now on从前cóngqián · previously从事cóngshì · to engage in从而cóng'ér · thus自从zìcóng · since (a time)服从fúcóng · to obey从容cóngróng · calm

Words with 来

来lái · to come出来chūlái · to come out过来guòlái · to come over回来huílai · to return进来jìnlái · to come in上来shànglái · to come up下来xiàlai · to come down后来hòulái · afterwards起来qǐlai · beginning or continuing an action带来dàilái · to bring (about)

More words: Particles & Connectors

不得不bùdébù · have no choice or option but to不过búguò · but不仅bùjǐn · not only (… but also)差不多chàbuduō · almost大概dàgài · roughly大约dàyuē · approximately到处dàochù · everywhere到底dàodǐ · after all

FAQs

从来 (cónglái) means “always” or “(with a negative) never”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it cónglái: cóng with a 2nd tone, then lái with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 从来 is written 從來. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type conglai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 从来 from the suggestions. Typing conglai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
从来 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.