来
らい～ · rai～ · JLPT N3 · prefix
next ~
📅 来 = come: 来週 rai-shū is the week that's coming, i.e. next week
来 means come, so 来年 (rainen) and 来月 (raigetsu) are the year and month coming toward you. Sound hook: rai sounds like rye, and 来 began as an ancient drawing of a grain stalk.
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).