过来
guòlái · HSK 2
come over/up
👉 过 = pass/cross + 来 = come; literally 'cross-come' = come over
过 means to pass or cross over, and 来 means to come. Together 过来 = 'cross-come', i.e. move from there to here. The 来 marker signals direction toward the speaker.
过 — 辶 walk radical + 呙 (phonetic)
过 combines the walking radical 辶, suggesting motion or passage, with 呙 serving as the phonetic component. Originally it depicted crossing or passing by on foot, which extended to meanings like 'to pass,' 'to cross over,' and later 'past' or 'excessive.' The simplified form replaces the traditional 過.
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).