The word 以来 (yǐlái) only ever looks backward — it never points forward. Place it after a past event or time, and it means "since that point until now," anchoring everything that follows in the stretch between then and the present moment.
The structure is simple: Time or Event + 以来. The event or time expression always comes first, then 以来 follows.
Example: 来中国以来，我交了很多新朋友 (lái Zhōngguó yǐlái, wǒ jiāo le hěn duō xīn péngyǒu) — "Since coming to China, I've made a lot of new friends."
You can also attach 以来 to a duration: 三年以来 (sān nián yǐlái) — "in the past three years." The pattern stays the same — something happened or began, and 以来 bridges from that moment to right now.
This HSK 5 speaking lesson, titled "Looking Back," trains you to describe how your life, habits, or surroundings have changed since a specific event — graduating, moving to a new city, starting a new job. You talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin in real time. She corrects your grammar and pronunciation in the flow of conversation and adapts to your level. Each lesson targets this one grammar pattern and takes roughly 10 minutes.
You might tell Mei Lin about what's changed since you started studying Mandarin, or since you moved to your current city. The goal is producing 以来 sentences naturally in conversation, not memorizing flashcards.
When you're ready, explore more HSK 5 lessons or try another HSK 5 live lesson on 之所以...是因为 (zhī suǒyǐ...shì yīnwèi) and another HSK 5 live lesson on 幸亏 (xìngkuī). You can also print handwriting practice with the free Chinese Worksheet Generator.
以来 (yǐlái) means "Since (A Point in Time Until Now)." You place it after a past event or time expression to talk about everything from that moment to the present. For example, 来中国以来 means "since coming to China." It always looks backward, never forward.
In the "Looking Back" lesson, you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin about changes in your life since a specific event — like graduating or starting a new job. She corrects your grammar and pronunciation in real time, and the lesson takes roughly 10 minutes.
Yes. You can attach 以来 to a duration like 三年以来 (sān nián yǐlái), meaning "in the past three years." The structure stays the same — the time expression comes first, then 以来, and the sentence describes what has happened from that point until now.
Yes, the first lesson can be tried free. You talk with Mei Lin by voice in real time — no typing — and she adapts to your level as you practice using 以来 in conversation.