用 / 通过 … 来 … (by means of …)
"By doing X, achieve Y"
- To say by what means you do something, use to use / with用 / to pass through通过 … to come来 + action.
- to use / with用cell phone手机to come来to pay money付钱 = "pay by phone"; to pass through通过to make an effort努力to come来success成功 = "succeed through effort".
- to come来 links the method to the goal.
to use / with用 / to pass through通过 + Method + to come来 + Verb Phrase
- The method comes first; to come来 + the action it serves.
we我们use用phone手机to来pay付钱。
- to use / with用cell phone手机to come来to pay money付钱 = "use a phone to pay."
Practice
Use a phone to pay: 用手机 ____ 付钱。
用 + Method + 来 + Verb = by … do …: 用手机来付钱.
Practice
通过努力来成功 follows the same 来 pattern.
Yes: 通过 / 用 + Method + 来 + Verb Phrase.
to come来 = "in order to" here
- This to come来 connects the means to the purpose, not movement.
Explore
Correct or broken?
用 / 通过 X 来 + verb names the tool or channel, then 来 hands over to the action.
Practice
What does 来 mean in 用手机来付钱?
Here 来 = “in order to”, not movement.
Recap
Key idea
- to use / with用 / to pass through通过 + Method + to come来 + Verb Phrase — "by (means of) …, do …"
- to use / with用cell phone手机to come来to pay money付钱 · to pass through通过to make an effort努力to come来success成功
- to come来 links method → goal (not movement)
Read the full reference: HSK 4 grammar — Conjunctions.