lái

莱菔

Word · NounTraditional萊

plant; place name

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

5 senses · 5 examples
1.

noun

chenopod; goosefoot (family of plants)

literary

An archaic or literary term for plants of the Chenopodium family, often considered weeds.

Tián田
zhōng中
zhǎng长
mǎn满
le了
lái莱
cǎo草
 。

The field was filled with goosefoot.

2.

noun

radish; turnip

archaic

A term used in classical Chinese texts to refer to radish or turnip; this meaning is archaic in modern usage.

Gǔ古
dài代
wén文
xiàn献
zhōng中
lái莱
zhǐ指
de的
jiù就
shì是
luó萝
bo卜
 。

In ancient texts, 'lai' refers to radish.

3.

noun

weed; wasteland

archaic

Used in classical Chinese to describe overgrown or uncultivated land.

Tián田
yuán园
jiāng将
wú芜
 ，
lái莱
cǎo草
biàn遍
dì地
 。

The fields are about to become wasteland, with weeds everywhere.

4.

noun

(used in place names)

Often appears in ancient Chinese place names, such as states or regions.

Lái莱
guó国
shì是
chūn春
qiū秋
shí时
qī期
de的
yī一
gè个
xiǎo小
guó国
 。

The Lai State was a small state during the Spring and Autumn period.

5.

noun

(used in personal names)

A character used in Chinese personal names, though not extremely common.

Tā他
xìng姓
Lái莱
 ，
míng名
jiào叫
Lái莱
Míng明
 。

His surname is Lai, and his given name is Lai Ming.