Expressing "all along" with "yuanlai"
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原来 (yuánlái) means "all along", and can be used to indicate that something was not the same as the speaker's expectations, something like, "it's been like this all along, how could I have not realized".
Some examples:
- 你 原来 都 在 骗 我，我 怎么 那么 傻？
- A: 他们 俩 个 昨晚 一起 去 吃饭 B: 哦，原来 是 这样 啊！
- 你 原来 什么 都 不 懂，还 好 意思 说 你 是 个 博士。
原来如此 can be used like 原来是这样 in example 2, to mean "so its like that is it?"
原来 can also mean "originally" or "at first", and in this sense is similar to 本来.
For example:
- 原来 我 很 迷茫，现在 想通 了！
- 我 保证 我 原来 什么 都 不 知道，她 今早 才 告诉 我 这个 消息，我 只是 没 来得及 转告 你 而已。
- 原来 科学家 以为 激光 没有 多大 用处，怎么 会 想到 会 成为 20 世纪 最 重要 的 发明 之一。
