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Kotomora

來

come, due, next, cause, become

StatusJinmeiyō (variant)Strokes8

Readings

On'yomi

  • ライ
  • タイ

Kun'yomi

  • く.る
  • きた.る
  • きた.す
  • き.たす
  • き.たる

Meaning

來 centers on movement toward a reference point: coming, arriving, or approaching. Its extended senses of 'next', 'due', 'cause', and 'become' all grow from the idea of something drawing near or resulting from prior movement.

Study

Etymology

來 is an ancient pictograph of a wheat plant, later borrowed phonetically to mean 'come'. The modern form retains the plant-like shape, but the original meaning is unrelated to its current use.

Meaning mnemonic

The shape of 來 resembles a central stalk with drooping leaves or grain heads. Imagine wheat being harvested and brought in—it comes to you, just as the kanji now means 'come'.

Reading mnemonic

For ライ, picture a line of wheat being brought in: line -> ライ, and the wheat comes to the barn.