Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced lai
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced lai, including 来 lái, 莱 lái, 赖 lài. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words, and example sentences.
How to Pronounce This Syllable
Build lai by sliding from l straight into ai; the tone rides over the joined sound, so treat it as one unit.
Initial l
Start the syllable on the initial l, then run straight into the final ai — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final ai
Settle the final ai into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (来 lái, 莱 lái, 赖 lài) and lock in their tones. 3 common characters share the sound lai, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
lai turns up here with 2 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 来, 莱 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 赖 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing lai inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
3 common characters in this group.