4 · Complements after the verb
When direction is not about space
extended meanings of direction complements
Qǐlai, xiàqu, chūlai and xiàlai also mean starting, carrying on, bringing to light and settling.
Several compound direction complements have meanings that have little to do with space. They are easier to learn as meanings of their own than to work out from “up”, “down” and “out” — just as English “give up” and “work out” have to be learned as wholes.
起来 has three uses. After a verb or adjective it can mean that something starts and continues: 她哭起来了, “she started crying”; 天热起来了, “it is getting warm”. After a verb of perceiving or doing it means “when you look / do it”: 看起来 “looks”, 听起来 “sounds”, 说起来容易 “easy to say”. And after 想 it means recalling: 想起来, “remember”.
下去 means carrying on with something already under way, into the future: 说下去, “go on (speaking)”. 下来 means coming to rest, or being fixed: 停下来 “stop”, 安静下来 “calm down”, 记下来 “write down”, and with time, something kept up from the past until now.
出来 means that something comes to light: 认出来 “recognise”, 听出来 “tell by listening”, 想出来 “come up with (an idea)”. That last one is the trap: 想出来 produces something new, 想起来 recovers something you once knew.
The form
| start and go on | 孩子哭起来了。 |
| seems, when you look | 这个菜看起来很好吃。 |
| remember | 我想起来了！ |
| carry on | 请你说下去。 |
| come to a stop | 车停下来了。 |
| recognise | 我没认出来他。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
起来 after a verb or an adjective can mean that something starts and keeps going.
天慢慢热起来了。It is slowly getting warmer.
看起来, 听起来 and verb + 起来 mean “when you look / listen / do it”.
你的计划听起来不错。Your plan sounds good.
下去 means carrying on with something already under way.
你说得很好，请继续说下去。You are doing very well — please go on.
下来 means coming to rest or being fixed: stopping, calming down, writing something down.
请把这个电话号码记下来。Please write this phone number down.
出来 means that something is recognised or worked out.
我一下子就听出来是你。I could tell straight away that it was you.
A closer look
Xiàlai and xiàqu on the time line
Applied to time, the two complements look in opposite directions from now. 下来 brings something from the past up to the present: 这个习俗是从古代传下来的, “this custom has been handed down from ancient times”.
下去 carries something from now into the future: 坚持下去, “keep it up”. So after a long effort you can say 我坚持下来了, “I saw it through”, and at the start of one, 我要坚持下去, “I will keep going”.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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a verb with 起来 “start” has an object
the object goes between 起 and 来.
外面下起雨来了。It has started to rain outside.
As with spatial directions, the object cannot follow 来; the complement opens to let it in.
How to spot it
- 起来
- 看起来
- 下去
- 下来
- 出来
Example sentences
听到这个笑话，大家都笑起来了。Everyone burst out laughing at the joke.
他看起来有点儿累。He looks a bit tired.
他的名字我终于想起来了。I finally remembered his name.
车在路边停下来了。The car pulled up at the side of the road.
这道题的答案你算出来了吗？Have you worked out the answer to this problem?
学中文不容易，可是我想坚持下去。Learning Chinese isn't easy, but I want to keep going.
7 more example sentences
教室里一下子安静下来了。The classroom suddenly went quiet.
这个蛋糕看起来很好吃。This cake looks delicious.
你能认出来这是谁的字吗？Can you tell whose handwriting this is?
这个主意是谁想出来的？Whose idea was this?
第一次跑十公里很累，但是我坚持下来了。My first ten-kilometre run was exhausting, but I made it to the end.
他们俩聊起来就忘了时间。Once the two of them got talking, they forgot the time.
这样下去不是办法。Carrying on like this is no solution.
Worth knowing (1)
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Easy to say, hard to do
Verb + 起来 followed by a judgement is a favourite way of saying what something is like in practice: 说起来容易，做起来难, “easier said than done”.
这件衣服穿起来很舒服。This top is very comfortable to wear.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “I came up with his name” and “his name came back to me” are close; Chinese keeps them apart. 想出来 produces something that did not exist before — an idea, a solution. A name you once knew is recalled with 想起来.
Qǐlai starts or seems, xiàqu carries on, xiàlai settles, chūlai brings to light.
Your turn
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