来 來 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[hui2lai5]) / ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4gu3 yi3lai2]) / for the past (amount of time) / (prefix) the coming ... / the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lai2shi4]) / (between two verbs) in order to / (after a round number) approximately / (used after 得[de2] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tan2de5lai2], or after 不[bu4] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chi1bu5lai2]) syn 老 lǎo prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity / old (of people) / venerable (person) / experienced / of long standing / always / all the time / of the past / very / outdated / (of meat etc) tough / unicode compatibility variant of 老 syn 下来 下來 xià lai to come down / (completed action marker) / (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.) / (indicates continuation from the past towards us) / to be harvested (of crops) / to be over (of a period of time) / to go among the masses (said of leaders) syn 往 wàng to go (in a direction) / to / towards / (of a train) bound for / past / previous syn 曾经 曾經 céng jīng once / already / former / previously / ever / (past tense marker used before verb or clause) syn 紧张 緊張 jǐn zhāng nervous / keyed up / intense / tense / strained / in short supply / scarce / CL:陣|阵[zhen4] syn 来着 來著 lái zhe auxiliary showing sth happened in the past syn 一向 yī xiàng a period of time in the recent past / (indicating a period of time up to the present) all along / the whole time syn 高手 gāo shǒu expert / past master / dab hand syn 走过 走過 zǒu guò to walk past / to pass by 以往 yǐ wǎng in the past / formerly syn 过人 過人 guò rén to surpass others / outstanding / (basketball, soccer etc) to get past an opponent syn 往事 wǎng shì past events / former happenings syn 早已 zǎo yǐ for a long time / long since / (dialect) in the past syn 飞过 飛過 fēi guò to fly over / to fly past 遗言 遺言 yí yán words of the deceased / last words of the dying / wisdom of past sages syn 一如既往 yī rú jì wǎng just as in the past (idiom) / as before / continuing as always syn 飞越 飛越 fēi yuè to fly across / to fly over / to fly past / (literary) (of one's spirits) to soar 早日 zǎo rì soon / at an early date / the early days / the past syn 事迹 事跡 shì jì deed / past achievement / important event of the past syn 过往 過往 guò wǎng to come and go / to have friendly relations with / in the past / previous syn 重蹈覆辙 重蹈覆轍 chóng dǎo fù zhé lit. to follow in the tracks of an overturned cart (idiom) / fig. to follow a path that led to failure in the past / to repeat a disastrous mistake syn 往日 wǎng rì former days / the past syn 昔日 xī rì former days / in the past syn 缅怀 緬懷 miǎn huái to commemorate / to recall fondly / to think of the past syn 回首 huí shǒu to turn around / to look back / (fig.) to recall the past syn 诉说 訴說 sù shuō to recount / to tell of / to relate / (fig.) (of a thing) to stand as testament to (some past history) syn 身世 shēn shì one's life experience / one's lot / one's past history syn 照旧 照舊 zhào jiù as before / as in the past syn 入围 入圍 rù wéi to get past the qualifying round / to make it to the finals 往昔 wǎng xī the past syn 牢笼 牢籠 láo lóng cage / trap (e.g. basket, pit or snare for catching animals) / fig. bonds (of wrong ideas) / shackles (of past misconceptions) / to trap / to shackle syn 掠过 掠過 lüè guò to flit across / to sweep past / to glance (strike at an angle) 擦肩而过 擦肩而過 cā jiān ér guò to brush past / to pass by (sb) / (fig.) to miss (an opportunity, a danger etc) / to have a brush (with death) syn 留存 liú cún to keep / to preserve / extant / to remain (from the past) syn 早年 zǎo nián many years ago / in the past / in one's early years syn 覆辙 覆轍 fù zhé the tracks of a cart that overturned / (fig.) a path that led to failure in the past syn 追忆 追憶 zhuī yì to recollect / to recall (past times) / to look back syn 上辈子 上輩子 shàng bèi zi one's ancestors / past generations / a former incarnation syn 近日 jìn rì (in) the past few days / recently / (within) the next few days syn 近年来 近年來 jìn nián lái for the past few years syn 近代 jìn dài the not-very-distant past / modern times, excluding recent decades / (in the context of Chinese history) the period from the Opium Wars until the May 4th Movement (mid-19th century to 1919) / capitalist times (pre-1949) syn 时态 時態 shí tài (verb) tense 素来 素來 sù lái consistently / always (in the past and now) syn 吃紧 吃緊 chī jǐn in short supply / dire / tense / critical / hard-pressed / important syn 历代 歷代 lì dài successive generations / successive dynasties / past dynasties syn 触景生情 觸景生情 chù jǐng shēng qíng scene which recalls past memories (idiom) / evocative of the past / reminiscent / to arouse deep feelings syn 痛改前非 tòng gǎi qián fēi completely correcting one's former misdeeds (idiom) / to repent past mistakes and turn over a new leaf / a reformed character syn 追述 zhuī shù recollections / to relate (past events) syn 前尘 前塵 qián chén the past / impurity contracted previously (in the sentient world) (Buddhism) syn 贤人 賢人 xián rén great person of the past / venerable forebear / the great and the good syn 事过境迁 事過境遷 shì guò jìng qiān The issue is in the past, and the situation has changed (idiom). / It is water under the bridge. syn 他日 tā rì (literary) some day / (literary) days in the past syn 明日黄花 明日黃花 míng rì huáng huā lit. chrysanthemums after the Double Ninth Festival (idiom) / fig. outdated / thing of the past / dead letter syn 悔不当初 悔不當初 huǐ bù dāng chū to regret one's past deeds (idiom) syn 上古 shàng gǔ the distant past / ancient times / antiquity / early historical times syn 遗风 遺風 yí fēng tradition or style from the past / old ways / surviving tradition / relic 继往开来 繼往開來 jì wǎng kāi lái to follow the past and herald the future (idiom) / part of a historical transition / forming a bridge between earlier and later stages syn 忆苦思甜 憶苦思甜 yì kǔ sī tián to view one's past as miserable and one's present as happy (idiom) syn 已往 yǐ wǎng the past syn 今昔 jīn xī past and present / yesterday and today syn 承前启后 承前啟後 chéng qián qǐ hòu to follow the past and herald the future (idiom) / part of a historical transition / forming a bridge between earlier and later stages syn 陈迹 陳跡 chén jì past events / relics from a former age / ruins syn 过去 過去 guò qù (in the) past / former / previous / to go over / to pass by syn 这几天 這幾天 zhè jǐ tiān the past few days 多年来 多年來 duō nián lái for the past many years syn 前几天 前幾天 qián jǐ tiān a few days ago / a few days before / the past few days / the previous few days 一直以来 一直以來 yī zhí yǐ lái in the past always / for a long time now / until now 往前 wǎng qián (in) the past / ahead / forward / in the future 年来 年來 nián lái this past year / over the last years 在前 zài qián ahead / formerly / in the past 紧绷 緊繃 jǐn bēng to stretch taut / (of muscles etc) taut / strained / tense 来路 來路 lái lù incoming road / origin / past history syn 一闪而过 一閃而過 yī shǎn ér guò to flash past / to flit by 几天来 幾天來 jǐ tiān lái for the past few days 劳动人民 勞動人民 láo dòng rén mín working people / the workers of Socialist theory or of the glorious Chinese past 源远流长 源遠流長 yuán yuǎn liú cháng lit. source is distant and the flow is long (idiom) / fig. sth goes back to the dim and distant past / a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then syn 来日 來日 lái rì future days / (literary) the next day / (old) past days syn 复辟 復辟 fù bì to recover one's power or authority / restoration (of a past regime) syn 既往 jì wǎng past / bygone / the past syn 遥想 遙想 yáo xiǎng to think about (the distant past or future) syn 怀古 懷古 huái gǔ to recall the past / to cherish the memory of past events / to reminisce / nostalgic syn 六点半 六點半 liù diǎn bàn half past six / 6:30 前事 qián shì past events / antecedent / what has happened 雪耻 雪恥 xuě chǐ to take revenge for a past insult / to expunge a disgrace or humiliation 迟暮 遲暮 chí mù past one's prime syn 先哲 xiān zhé the wise and learned individuals of the past syn 复旧 復舊 fù jiù to restore old way / to return to the past syn 曾 céng once / already / ever (in the past) / former / previously / (past tense marker used before verb or clause) syn 从没 從沒 cóng méi never (in the past) / never did syn 紧 緊 jǐn tight / strict / close at hand / near / urgent / tense / hard up / short of money / to tighten syn 擦 cā to rub / to scratch / to wipe / to polish / to apply (lipstick, lotion etc) / to brush (past) / to shred (a vegetable etc) syn 晃 huǎng to dazzle / to flash past syn 昔 xī former times / the past / Taiwan pr. [xi2] syn 缓 緩 huǎn slow / unhurried / sluggish / gradual / not tense / relaxed / to postpone / to defer / to stall / to stave off / to revive / to recuperate syn 掣 chè to pull / to draw / to pull back / to withdraw / to flash past syn 耳边风 耳邊風 ěr biān fēng lit. wind past your ear / fig. sth you don't pay much attention to / in one ear and out the other syn 时至今日 時至今日 shí zhì jīn rì (idiom) up to the present / even now / now (in contrast with the past) / at this late hour syn 