原来
yuánlái · HSK 2
originally
原 = origin/source + 来 = come; 'come from the origin' = originally
原 means source or origin (think 原因 cause, 草原 grassland-source); 来 means to come. Together 原来 literally 'comes from the origin' — what was true from the start, i.e. originally or as it turns out.
原 — cliff 厂 + spring 泉 (white 白 + water 水)
Originally a pictograph showing a spring of water flowing out from beneath a cliff, depicting the source of a stream. From this concrete image of a water source, the meaning extended to 'origin,' 'source,' and 'original.' A separate character 源 was later created with the water radical 氵 to keep the literal 'spring' sense.
来 — pictograph of a wheat plant with grain heads
来 originally depicted a stalk of wheat with drooping grain heads, and meant 'wheat' in oracle bone script. It was later borrowed phonetically to write the unrelated verb 'to come,' which became its dominant meaning. The original 'wheat' sense was taken over by 麥 (now 麦).