Complex directionals: V+起来/下去/出来

Chinese grammar · HSK 4 · 复杂趋向补语 · By Carson 木林森

These compound directionals attach to a verb to show direction AND carry extended meanings:

起来 qǐ lai to stand up 下去 xià qù to go down 出来 chū lái to come out

| Compound | Literal → Extended meaning |
|---|---|
| V+起来 | upward → begin an action; seem/feel like |
| V+下去 | downward → continue an action |
| V+出来 | outward → produce / reveal something hidden |
| V+进去 | inward → enter / absorb |
| V+回来 | return → bring back / recover |

Object placement: Object goes between V and 来/去 for place words: 走进教室来 (walk into the classroom). For other objects, place after the whole compound: 拿出来一本书.

Worked examples

Chinese	Pinyin	English	What it shows
听到这个消息，他高兴起来了。	Tīng dào zhè gè xiāo xi, tā gāo xìng qǐ lái le.	Hearing this news, he became happy.	起来 extended meaning: beginning of a state — he started to become happy
故事讲到一半，你不能就这样停下去。	Gù shi jiǎng dào yī bàn, nǐ bù néng jiù zhè yàng tíng xià qù.	You're halfway through the story — you can't just stop like that.	下去 = continuation: keep going with the action (don't stop)
他从口袋里掏出来一张旧照片。	Tā cóng kǒu dài lǐ tāo chū lái yī zhāng jiù zhào piàn.	He pulled an old photo out of his pocket.	出来 = outward (from pocket). Object 一张旧照片 follows the full compound 出来

Produce this pattern without stopping to think about it. GraphChinese drills Complex directionals across 13 exercises and schedules the review that keeps it.

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