B. Verbs of motion taking a simple directional complement

 

Verbs of motion such as shàng上, xià下, jìn进, chū出, huí回, guò过, and qǐ起 frequently take lái来 and qù去 as complements. Table 1 below shows lái 来and qù去 suffixed to verbs of motion to show whether the movement is toward the speaker or away from the speaker. In English, the direction of an action is usually indicated by the verbs ‘come’ and ‘go’, which are represented respectively by the verbs ‘lái来’ and ‘qù去’ in Chinese. Note that as complements lái and qù have neutral tone when they are attached to verbs except for the verb dào到.

 

Table 1. Simple Directional Complements

verbs of motion     simple directional complements	shàng 上 to ascend	xià 下 to descend	jìn 进 to enter	chū 出 to exit	huí 回 to return	guó 过 to cross	qǐ 起 to rise	dào 到 to reach
lái来 action proceeding toward the speaker	shànglai 上来 come up	xiàlai 下来 come down	jìnlai 进来 come in(to)	chūlai 出来 come out	huílai 回来 come back	guòlai 过来 come over	qǐlai 起来 get up	dào ... lái 到 ... 来 come to
qù去 action moving away from where the speaker is	shàngqu 上去 go up	xiàqu 下去 go down	jìnqu 进去 go in(to)	chūqu 出去 go out	huíqu 回去 go back	guòqu 过去 go over	N./A.	dào ... qù 到 ... 去 go to

 

The examples below show how these compounds are used in sentences:

 

1.1     shànglai上来(to come up)

                                                     Note: The speaker is upstairs. The listener is downstairs.

　

Wǒ zài lóushàng, qǐng nǐ shànglai.  

我在楼上，请你上来。

I’m upstairs. Please come up.

　

1.2     shàngqu上去(to go up)

 

  Note: Both the speaker and the listener are at the foot of the hill.

　

Tīngshuō shān-shang fēngjǐng hěn měi. Nǐ xiǎng bù xiǎng shàngqu kàn kan.  

听说山上风景很美。你想不想上去看看？

I  heard that the view on the top of the mountain was beautiful. Would you like to go up to take a look?

　

 

2.1     xiàlai下来(to come down)

 

Note: The speaker and the listener are downstairs. The speaker tells the listener that he is going upstairs.

　

Tā zài lóushàng. Wǒ qù jiào tā xiàlai.  

他在楼上。我去叫他下来。

He’s upstairs. I’ll go to tell him to come down.

　

2.2     xiàqu下去(to go down)

 

Note: The speaker and the listener are upstairs. The speaker asks the listener to go downstairs.

　

Lóuxià yǒu rén jiào mén. Nǐ xiàqu kàn kan shì shéi.  

楼下有人叫门。你下去看看是谁。

Someone is knocking on the door. Go down to see who it is.

　

 

3.1     jìnlai进来(to come in)

 

Note: The speaker is inside the house asking the listener to come inside.

　

Wàitou nàme lěng, nǐ kuài jìnlai ba.  

外头那么冷，你快进来吧。

It’s so cold outside. Quickly come in.

　

3.2     jìnqu进去(to go in)

 

Note: Both the speaker and the listener are outside the house.

　

Tiānqi tài lěng le. Wǒmen kuài jìnqu ba.  

太冷了，我们快进去吧。

It’s too cold. Let’s quickly go in.

　

 

4.1     chūlai出来(to come out)

 

Note: The speaker is outside the house. The listener is inside.

　

Fángzi-li tài rè le. Nǐ kuài chūlai ba.  

房子里太热了，你快出来吧。

It’s too hot in the house. Quickly come out.

　

4.2     chūqu出去(to go out)

 

Note: The speaker and the listener are inside the house.

　

Tiānqi zhēn hǎo! Wǒmen chūqu zǒu zou ba.  

天气真好！我们出去走走吧。

The weather is really nice! Let’s go out and take a walk.

　

 

5.1     huílai回来(to come back)

 

Note: The speaker and the listener are at the same place. The speaker is going to take a short trip. He tells the listener he’ll be back in the evening the next day.

　

Wǒ míngtiān wǎnshang huílai.  

我明天晚上回来。

I’m coming back tomorrow.

　

5.2     huíqu回去(to go back)

 

Note: The speaker and the listener are in Shanghai. The speaker tells the listener that he is returning to Beijing the next day.

　

Wǒ míngtiān huíqu.  

我明天回去。

I’m going back tomorrow.

　

 

6.1     guòlai过来(to come over)

 

Note: The speaker asks the listener to come over to where he is.

　

Guòlai shì shi zhèi jiàn máoyī.  

过来试试这件毛衣。

Come over here and try this sweater on.

　

6.2     guòqu过去(to go over)

 

Note: The speaker and the listener are not at the lake.

　

Tīngshuō nèibiān yǒu yí gè xiǎo hú. Wǒmen guòqu kàn kan.  

听说那边有一个小湖，我们过去看看。

I heard there’s a small lake over there. Let’s go over there to take a look.

　

 

7.1     qǐlai起来(to rise, to get up)

 

Note: The speaker asks the listener to get out of bed.

　

Yǐjīng bā diǎn le. Kuài qǐlai ba.  

已经八点了。快起来吧。

It’s already eight o’clock. Get up quickly.

　

 

8.1     dào + place + lái到 ...... 来(to come to)

 

Note: The speaker is in Beijing.

　

Huānyíng nǐ dào Běijīng lái.  

欢迎你到北京来。

Welcome (you) to Beijing.

　

8.2     dào + place + qù           到 ...... 去(to go to)

 

Note: The speaker is not in France.

　

Wǒ hěn xiǎng dào Fǎguó qù.  

我很想到法国去。

I very much want to go to France.