本来 (běnlái) means Originally (Original). Below are 4 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
From the graded readers
这个周末我 本来 有很多打算。
zhège zhōumò wǒ běnlái yǒu hěnduō dǎsuàn.
I had a lot of plans for this weekend.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · My Weekend
上个星期天，我们 本来 要去公园玩。
shànggexīngqī tiān, wǒmen běnlái yāo qù gōngyuán wán / wàn.
Last Sunday we were supposed to go and play in the park.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · A Rainy Day
那条消息是她十四岁的弟弟发的， 本来 是开玩笑。
nà / nèi tiáo xiāoxi shì tā shísì suì de / dì dìdi fā de / dì, běnlái shì kāiwánxiào.
The message had been sent by her fourteen-year-old brother, as a joke.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · A Misunderstanding
Questions about 本来
How is 本来 used in a sentence?
This page shows 4 sentences using 本来 (běnlái, "Originally (Original)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Is 本来 an HSK word?
Yes — 本来 is on the official HSK 4 vocabulary list, and you can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 4 page.
Where can I see the full entry for 本来?
The dictionary page for 本来 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 本来, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, drill it with HSK 4 flashcards, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
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