拿……来……
Reach for this when you want to pluck a specific example or tool out of the air and put it to use — 'take X to [verb] something with.' It's how Chinese says 'let's use X as the example' or 'I'll use this to do that.' Common in discussions and explanations where you want to focus on one concrete case before generalizing: 'Take these two cars, let's compare them.'
Structure
拿 [OBJECT] 来 [VERB]
ná... lái...
How to Think About It
拿 here isn't physically grabbing — it's rhetorically picking up. The structure splits into two moves: 拿X frames what you're singling out, and 来Y states what you're going to do with it. This is why 拿...来... so often introduces examples in spoken Chinese: 拿这件事来说 ('take this thing for instance') is a hedge that says 'I'm about to use this as my example,' even though nothing is being physically held.
Examples
我们拿这两本书来比较一下。
Wǒmen ná zhè liǎng běn shū lái bǐjiào yíxià.
Let's take these two books to compare.
你可以拿这个方法来解决问题。
Nǐ kěyǐ ná zhège fāngfǎ lái jiějué wèntí.
You can use this method to solve the problem.
拿我自己来说, 我每天都学一个小时。
Ná wǒ zìjǐ lái shuō, wǒ měitiān dōu xué yí gè xiǎoshí.
Take me for example — I study an hour every day.
Common Mistake
Learners drop 来 and leave just 拿X V, treating 拿 like 用 ('to use'). 拿...来... needs the 来 to link the object to the action — without it, the sentence either sounds like literal grabbing or just becomes ungrammatical in this examples-and-discussion sense.
我们拿这两个例子比较。
我们拿这两个例子来比较。
Don't Confuse With
用 + Object + Verb
用 means 'use' in the practical, tool-using sense — '用筷子吃饭' (eat with chopsticks). 拿...来... has more of a 'let's take this as our example' feel, often introducing discussion rather than physical action.
把 + Object + Verb
把 marks the object as the thing being acted on directly. 拿...来... picks something up to do something with it. Use 把 when you're doing something TO the object; 拿 when you're using it AS a means or example.
拿 + Object + 来说
A fixed variant meaning 'take X for example.' Use 拿...来说 specifically for introducing examples in argument; use the broader 拿...来 + verb for any tool-or-example use.
Practice
我们 ___ 这件事来分析一下。
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拿
拿手机 ___ 看新闻很方便。
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来
Put in order: [拿 / 例子 / 我们 / 这个 / 解释 / 来]
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我们拿这个例子来解释。
Translate to Chinese: 'Let's take this car to compare with the new model.'
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我们拿这辆车来跟新款比较。
Write one sentence using something around you as a way to make a point, using 拿...来....
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Example answer: 拿我的爷爷来说, 他七十岁还在学英语。 (Take my grandfather for example — he's still learning English at seventy.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear 拿……来…… in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start, no card.