嚟（目的）

In Cantonese, while you can sometimes just put two verbs together (serial verb construction), using 嚟 (lei4) makes the relationship of purpose explicit. It translates most naturally as 'to' or 'in order to'.

1. Structure:
The most common pattern is: [Action] + [Object] + 嚟 + [Purpose]. The first verb usually involves getting, bringing, or handling an item (e.g., 買 maai5 - buy, 攞/拎 lo2/ling1 - take, 搵 wan2 - find, 借 ze3 - borrow).
Example: 攞把刀 (lo2 baa2 dou1 - take a knife) + 嚟 (to) + 切生果 (cit3 saang1 gwo2 - cut fruit).

2. Shared Object Rule:
If the first and second verbs act on the same object, the object is placed after the first verb and MUST be omitted after the second verb. For example, you say 買條魚嚟蒸 (maai5 tiu4 jyu2 lei4 zing1 - buy a fish to steam), never 買條魚嚟蒸條魚. If the object is already known from context, it can be omitted entirely, like 買嚟食 (maai5 lei4 sik6 - bought [it] to eat).

3. Negation:
You cannot put 唔 (m4) directly in front of 嚟. However, you can negate different parts depending on your meaning: negate the first verb (唔買嚟食 m4 maai5 lei4 sik6 - not going to buy it to eat), negate the second verb (買嚟唔食 maai5 lei4 m4 sik6 - buy it but not eat it), or negate the entire intention using 唔係 (m4 hai6) (唔係買嚟食 m4 hai6 maai5 lei4 sik6 - it's not bought for eating).

4. The 用...嚟... Pattern & Colloquial Equivalents:
A highly common everyday application is 用...嚟... (jung6... lei4... - use... to...). For example: 用部手機嚟睇戲 (jung6 bou6 sau2 gei1 lei4 tai2 hei3 - use the phone to watch movies). Additionally, Cantonese frequently uses 要嚟 (jiu3 lei4) or 愛嚟 (oi3 lei4) to mean 'used for' or 'intended for'. For example: 呢把刀愛嚟切肉 (ni1 baa2 dou1 oi3 lei4 cit3 juk6 - this knife is used for cutting meat).

5. Pronunciation:
While dictionaries often list it as lai4, in modern Hong Kong Cantonese, it is almost always pronounced lei4 in this context.

6. Nuance & Written Equivalent:
嚟 is the direct colloquial counterpart to the Standard Written Chinese and Mandarin 來 (loi4 / lái). For example, 買嚟食 is written as 買來吃. While 為咗 (wai6 zo2) also means 'in order to', it usually requires restructuring the sentence, whereas 嚟 links the action directly to its intended result.

7. 嚟 vs. 去 (Directional Purpose):
Do not confuse this with the directional verb 嚟 (to come). While they share the same character, the purpose marker doesn't always mean something is physically moving toward the speaker. However, there is an important contrast with 去 (heoi3). Use 嚟 when bringing, getting, or keeping something for a purpose, and use 去 when taking something away to do something with it. For example, compare 攞把刀嚟切生果 (lo2 baa2 dou1 lei4 cit3 saang1 gwo2 - get a knife to cut fruit) with 攞啲垃圾去掉 (lo2 di1 laap6 saap3 heoi3 diu6 - take the rubbish away to throw it out).

8. Topic-Comment Structure (Object Fronting):
Cantonese speakers frequently front the object to the very beginning of the sentence as a topic. This is incredibly common with this pattern. Instead of saying 買條魚嚟蒸 (maai5 tiu4 jyu2 lei4 zing1), you will often hear 呢條魚買嚟蒸 (ni1 tiu4 jyu2 maai5 lei4 zing1 - as for this fish, [I] bought it to steam). Another example: 啲錢攞嚟交租 (di1 cin2 lo2 lei4 gaau1 zou1 - the money is taken to pay rent).