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起来

qi lai

Old HSK 4 HSK 3.0 level 2 2-character word Traditional 起來

起来 (qǐ lai) means "to get up; to stand up; (after a verb/adj) indicating the start of an action or state". It is an HSK 3.0 level 2 word, and was HSK 4 in the old six-level list.

What 起来 means

1. (after a verb) indicating the beginning and continuation of an action or a state
2. indicating an upward movement (e.g. after {站|zhàn})
3. indicating completion
4. (after a perception verb, e.g. {看|kàn}) expressing preliminary judgment
5. also pr. qǐ lai

How 起来 is used in grammar

起来 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.

• Compound Directional Complements (HSK 3)
• Complex directionals: V+起来/下去/出来 (HSK 4)
• Directional Complements: Temporal Meaning (HSK 5)
• Directional Complements: Extended Stative Meanings (HSK 6)

The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 2, complement (趋向补语); level 3, complement (趋向补语); level 5, complement (趋向补语).

Other readings

起来 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• qǐ laito stand up; to get up; also pr. qǐ lái

The characters in 起来

• 起qǐto rise; to raise; to get up
• 来láito come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb)…

Example sentences

• 起来吧！
  Get up!
• 拿起来。
  Pick it up.
• 站起来。
  Stand up.
• 手举起来。
  Shǒu jǔqǐ lái.
  Raise your hands.
• 请别起来。
  Please don't get up.
• 一起来吧。
  Come along.

Words containing 起来

• 看起来kàn qǐ laiseemingly; apparently; looks as if; appears to be; gives the impression that…
• 站起来zhàn qǐ laito stand up
• 听起来tīng qi laito sound like
• 好起来hǎo qǐ laito get better; to improve; to get well
• 想起来xiǎng qi laito remember; to recall
• 算起来suàn qǐ láito calculate; to estimate; in total
• 拼起来pīn qi laito put together
• 卯起来mǎo qǐ lai(colloquial) to get enthusiastic; to put in all one's energy
• 马尾穿豆腐，提不起来mǎ wěi chuān dòu fu , tí bu qǐ lailit. like tofu strung on horsetail, you can't lift it…
• 铆起来mǎo qǐ laivariant of 卯起来

Where 起来 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Common expressions & phrases (HSK 4), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 4 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read qi lai correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.