本来běn láioriginally; at first

1. 1.

   originally; at firstadverb

2. 2.

   it goes without saying; of courseadverb

3. 3.

   originaladjective

• 本(bound form) original
• 来not compositional here

本来 can come before 是 or 要 for how things stood at the start, and 本来就 can mean it goes without saying.

1. HSK 1

   我本来是要去的。

   Wǒ běnlái shì yào qù de.

   I was originally going to go.

2. HSK 2

   我本来就不想去。

   Wǒ běnlái jiù bù xiǎng qù.

   I didn't want to go in the first place.

3. HSK 1

   他本来是老师。

   Tā běnlái shì lǎoshī.

   He was a teacher at first.

4. HSK 4

   这是我本来的想法。

   Zhè shì wǒ běnlái de xiǎngfǎ.

   This is my original idea.

1. 
   Speaker A:

   你去吗？

   Nǐ qù ma?

   Are you going?

2. 
   Speaker B:

   不去了。我本来是要去的，不过太累了。

   Bú qù le. Wǒ běnlái shì yào qù de, búguò tài lèi le.

   Not anymore. I was originally going to go, but I'm too tired.

3. 
   Speaker A:

   你本来就不想去吗？

   Nǐ běnlái jiù bù xiǎng qù ma?

   Did you not want to go in the first place?

4. 
   Speaker B:

   不是。我本来就想去。

   Bú shì. Wǒ běnlái jiù xiǎng qù.

   No. I wanted to go in the first place.

1. 1.Fill in the blank: 我___是要去的。(I was originally going to go.)

   A本来B现在C所以
2. 2.Which sentence means "I didn't want to go in the first place"?

   A我本来就不想去。B我现在想去。C我要去。
3. 3.Fill in the blank: 这是我___的想法。(This is my original idea.)

   A本来B很C不

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Related words

• 本běnclassifier for books, periodicals, files etcHSK 1
• 以前yǐ qiánbeforeHSK 3
• 现在xiàn zàinow; at present; currentlyHSK 1
• 就jiù(after a suppositional clause) in that case; thenHSK 2
• 是shìto be (followed by substantives only)HSK 1
• 要yàoto want; to need; to ask forHSK 1

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