‘来了’ is a common verb phrase indicating that someone or something has just arrived or appeared. It combines the verb ‘来’ (to come) with the aspect particle ‘了’, which signals a completed action or a change of state. Unlike simple past tense in English, ‘来了’ emphasizes the present result of arrival — the person or thing is now here. It’s frequently used in spoken Chinese to announce arrivals, answer the door, or report news.

This phrase is neutral in register and works for people, animals, vehicles, packages, or even abstract things like weather or emotions (e.g., ‘雨来了’ – ‘The rain has arrived’). It’s rarely used with explicit future time words (like ‘明天’) because ‘了’ marks completion; instead, use ‘要来了’ for near-future arrival. The subject is often omitted when clear from context — for example, hearing a knock and saying ‘来了！’ means ‘I’m coming!’ or ‘He’s here!’ depending on tone and situation.