一来

一來

yīlái

conjunction #8,565

Meanings

1 firstly; for one thing; in the first place
2 (used with 二来) on one hand... on the other hand

Characters

to come; (used to introduce a reason)

First reason — used to list the first of multiple reasons, paired with 二来.

Examples

我不想去，一来没时间，二来没钱。

Wǒ bù xiǎng qù, yīlái méi shíjiān, èrlái méi qián.

I don't want to go — firstly I have no time, secondly I have no money.

一来可以锻炼身体，二来可以减压。

Yīlái kěyǐ duànliàn shēntǐ, èrlái kěyǐ jiǎnyā.

For one thing it exercises the body, for another it relieves stress.

他决定留在这里，一来工作稳定，二来离家近。

Tā juédìng liú zài zhèlǐ, yīlái gōngzuò wěndìng, èrlái lí jiā jìn.

He decided to stay here — firstly the job is stable, secondly it's close to home.

Tips

grammar

一来...二来... is a common structure for listing two reasons. It's more colloquial than 第一...第二... and flows naturally in spoken Chinese. You can occasionally add 三来 for a third reason.

Stroke Order

一 yī

来 lái