賴 (lài) - Lai — a common Chinese surname & to rely on, depend on

賴Tone 4

lài ｜ 16 strokes ｜ radical:

俊梁

賴 · lài

Lai — a common Chinese surname;

to rely on, depend on;

to hang on in a place;

to blame;

to deny one's error or responsibility;

shoddy;

poor quality.

Lai — a common Chinese surnameto rely on, depend onto hang on in a place

Usage highlights

Lai surnameto depend onto rely onto blame someoneto deny a debtshoddy goods

Synonyms

  • 依靠— to rely on, depend on
  • 依赖— to depend on, rely on
  • 凭— to rely on, depend on

Antonyms

  • 独立— independent, self-reliant
  • 自主— self-determined, autonomous
  • 负责— responsible, accountable

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • His surname is Lai (他姓赖).
  • Children depend on their parents (孩子依赖父母).
  • Don't blame others for your mistakes (不要赖别人).
  • This product is of poor quality (这个产品质量很赖).
  • He lingered at my house all day (他赖在我家一整天).

Collocations

  • Lai surname(赖姓)
  • to depend on(依赖)
  • to rely on(依靠)
  • to blame someone(赖人)
  • to deny a debt(赖账)
  • shoddy goods(赖货)

Idioms

  • Deadbeat, rascal(死皮赖脸)
  • Utterly unreasonable and rascally(耍无赖)
  • To renege on a debt(赖债不还)
  • To pin the blame on others(赖在别人身上)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Lai is a common Chinese surname with origins in the Zhou dynasty, derived from the place name Lai.
  • The character carries both positive (dependability) and negative (shirking responsibility) connotations.
  • In naming, it's primarily used as a surname rather than a given name due to its ambiguous semantic load.

FAQ