Chinese grammar · Intermediate (B1)
Direction complements: 来, 去 and more
How 来 and 去 after a verb show movement towards or away from the speaker, compound forms like 出来 and 回去, where the object goes, and uses like 想起来.
Towards or away: 来 and 去
(lái) after a verb means the movement is towards the speaker, (qù) that it goes away from the speaker: (jìnlai), come in; (jìnqu), go in. As complements, and are usually said in the neutral tone.
So it depends where you are. If you're downstairs, you call (xiàlai ba), come down; your friend upstairs answers (wǒ mǎshàng xiàqu), I'm coming down right away.
| Verb | + (lai, towards the speaker) | + (qu, away from the speaker) |
|---|---|---|
| (shàng), go up | (shànglai) | (shàngqu) |
| (xià), go down | (xiàlai) | (xiàqu) |
| (jìn), go in | (jìnlai) | (jìnqu) |
| (chū), go out | (chūlai) | (chūqu) |
| (huí), go back | (huílai) | (huíqu) |
| (guò), go across | (guòlai) | (guòqu) |
| (qǐ), rise | (qǐlai) | not used |
Compound forms: verb + direction
These pairs can follow another verb. The first verb says how you move, the complement says which way: (pǎo chūqu), run out; (zǒu jìnlai), walk in; (ná huílai), bring back; (bān guòlai), move over here; (zhàn qǐlai), stand up.
- 请进来吧。Qǐng jìnlai ba.Please come in.
- 他从房间里跑出去了。Tā cóng fángjiān li pǎo chūqu le.He ran out of the room.
- 我们是一九六五年搬过来的。Wǒmen shì yī jiǔ liù wǔ nián bān guòlai de.We moved here in 1965.
- 司机把钱包送回来了。Sījī bǎ qiánbāo sòng huílai le.The driver brought the wallet back.
Where the object goes
A place always goes before or : (tā huí Shànghǎi qu le), he's gone back to Shanghai; (xià lóu lai ba), come downstairs.
A thing usually goes between the two parts of the complement: (ná chū shǒujī lai), take out your phone. You can also use : (bǎ shǒujī ná chūlai). When the thing has a number and the action is finished, it can come at the end: (tā mǎi huílai yí ge xīguā), he bought a watermelon and brought it back.
- 他拿出手机来给我看照片。Tā ná chū shǒujī lai gěi wǒ kàn zhàopiàn.He took out his phone to show me some photos.
- 她已经回老家去了。Tā yǐjīng huí lǎojiā qu le.She has already gone back to her hometown.
- 你下楼来吧，我在门口等你。Nǐ xià lóu lai ba, wǒ zài ménkǒu děng nǐ.Come downstairs, I'm waiting for you at the entrance.
Figurative meanings
Some direction complements have meanings beyond movement. Potential forms work as usual: (xiǎng bu qǐlai), can't remember; (rèn bu chūlai), can't recognise.
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (xiǎng qǐlai) | remember, recall | (Wǒ xiǎng qǐlai le!) Now I remember! |
| (kàn qǐlai) | look, seem | (Nǐ kàn qǐlai hěn lèi.) You look tired. |
| (qǐlai) | start to | (Tāmen xiào qǐlai le.) They started laughing. |
| (xiàqu) | carry on | (Nǐ shuō xiàqu.) Go on. |
| (chūlai) | identify, work out | (Wǒ méi rèn chūlai.) I didn't recognise them. |
| (xiàlai) | keep, record | (jì xiàlai) write it down |
- 他叫什么来着？我想不起来了。Tā jiào shénme láizhe? Wǒ xiǎng bu qǐlai le.What was his name again? I can't remember.
- 这个菜看起来很好吃。Zhège cài kàn qǐlai hěn hǎochī.This dish looks delicious.