起来 vs 下去: what is the difference?
起来 marks a start (她唱起来了) and 下去 marks a continuation (你说下去 means "go on"). Choose by whether the action is beginning or already running.
| Word | Pinyin | What it does | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 起来 | qǐ lái | Added to a verb or adjective to say that an action or state begins. | verb or adjective + 起来；verb + 起 + object + 来 |
| 下去 | xià qù | Added to a verb to say that an action that is already under way keeps going. | verb + 下去 |
起来 (qǐ lái)
Added to a verb or adjective to say that an action or state begins.
Structure: verb or adjective + 起来；verb + 起 + object + 来
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 听到这个好消息，大家都高兴起来了。 | Tīng dào zhè gè hǎo xiāo xī, dà jiā dōu gāo xìng qǐ lái le. | Hearing the good news, everyone cheered up. |
| 孩子们一进教室就吵起来了。 | Hái zi men yí jìn jiào shì jiù chǎo qǐ lái le. | As soon as the children entered the classroom, they started making a racket. |
| 天一黑，街上的灯就亮起来了。 | Tiān yì hēi, jiē shàng de dēng jiù liàng qǐ lái le. | As soon as it got dark, the street lights came on. |
Not: 下起来雨了。 When the verb has an object, the object goes between 起 and 来: 下起雨来了。
下去 (xià qù)
Added to a verb to say that an action that is already under way keeps going.
Structure: verb + 下去
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 这个工作很难，但是我会做下去。 | Zhè gè gōng zuò hěn nán, dàn shì wǒ huì zuò xià qù. | This job is hard, but I will keep doing it. |
| 你别停，请继续说下去，我很想听。 | Nǐ bié tíng, qǐng jì xù shuō xià qù, wǒ hěn xiǎng tīng. | Do not stop. Please keep on talking. |
| 如果天气一直热下去，河水就会干了。 | Rú guǒ tiān qì yì zhí rè xià qù, hé shuǐ jiù huì gàn le. | If the weather keeps getting hotter, the river will dry up. |
Not: 我昨天开始看下去这本书。 下去 means "keep going with something already started". For the start of an action, use 起来.
Where this comes from
The comparison is part of Directional Complements: Temporal Meaning (HSK 5) in the grammar reference, which has the full explanation, more worked examples, and what to learn before and after it.
More pairs: 下去 vs 下来 · 从而 vs 因此 · 从…来看 vs 在…看来 · 大都 vs 都 · 跟…相比 vs 跟…一样 · 过于 vs 太 · 看不得 vs 看不懂 · 累坏了 vs 累得不得了 · 凭 vs 依据 · 仍旧 vs 依旧 · 为了 vs 为的是 · 有 vs 有着 · all 81 pairs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between 起来 and 下去?
起来 marks a start (她唱起来了) and 下去 marks a continuation (你说下去 means "go on"). Choose by whether the action is beginning or already running.
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