Directional Complements: Temporal Meaning
Directional complements can show time as well as movement. At HSK 5, 起来 means an action or state begins, as in 天气冷起来了, while 下去 means it carries on, as in 说下去.
V + 下去 = the action continues (continuative), often despite difficulty, or a state keeps developing in the same direction:
请你说下去。(Please keep talking.)
情况越来越严重下去了。(The situation kept getting more serious.)
Common mistake: using 下去 when the action is just starting (should be 起来), or forgetting to split the object into the V+起+O+来 slot.
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 外面下起雨来了。 | Wài miàn xià qǐ yǔ lái le. | It started raining outside. | 起来 with a verb-object compound (下雨): object (雨) splits into V+起+O+来. |
| 听到这个笑话，大家都笑了起来。 | Tīng dào zhè ge xiào huà, dà jiā dōu xiào le qǐ lái. | Hearing the joke, everyone burst out laughing. | 起来 with an intransitive verb (笑), no object to split — simplest inceptive form. |
| 请你接着讲下去，我们都想知道结果。 | Qǐng nǐ jiē zhe jiǎng xià qù, wǒ men dōu xiǎng zhī dào jié guǒ. | Please keep talking, we all want to know the result. | 下去 marks that an ongoing action should continue. |
| 虽然遇到很多困难，但他还是坚持学下去，最后终于成功了。 | Suī rán yù dào hěn duō kùn nán, dàn tā hái shì jiān chí xué xià qù, zuì hòu zhōng yú chéng gōng le. | Although he ran into a lot of difficulties, he still kept studying, and eventually succeeded. | 下去 combined with a concession clause (虽然…但…), showing perseverance despite obstacles. |
Word by word
Each word in this pattern on its own: what it does here, the structure, three more examples, and the mistake to avoid.
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。
In the official HSK 3.0 grammar outline: level 2, complement (趋向补语); level 3, complement (趋向补语); level 5, complement (趋向补语).
起来 is also explained in: Compound Directional Complements (HSK 3) · Complex directionals: V+起来/下去/出来 (HSK 4) · Directional Complements: Extended Stative Meanings (HSK 6).
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.
In the official HSK 3.0 grammar outline: level 2, complement (趋向补语); level 5, complement (趋向补语).
下去 is also explained in: Complex directionals: V+起来/下去/出来 (HSK 4) · Directional Complements: Extended Stative Meanings (HSK 6).
Compared side by side: 起来 vs 下去.
What you need first
Every topic in GraphChinese names its own prerequisites, and these are the grammar points this one is built on. If a sentence here will not parse, one of them is why.
The same pattern at other levels
- Directional Complements — HSK 2
- Directional Complements — HSK 6
Questions about Directional Complements
What does 趋向补语表时间意义 (Directional Complements) mean in Chinese?
Directional complements can show time as well as movement. At HSK 5, 起来 means an action or state begins, as in 天气冷起来了, while 下去 means it carries on, as in 说下去. It is an HSK 5 grammar point.
How do you use 趋向补语表时间意义 (Directional Complements) in a sentence?
外面下起雨来了。 — Wài miàn xià qǐ yǔ lái le. — It started raining outside. 起来 with a verb-object compound (下雨): object (雨) splits into V+起+O+来.
What do you need to know before 趋向补语表时间意义 (Directional Complements)?
Complex directionals (HSK 4). This pattern is built out of them, so a sentence here that will not parse usually means one of them has not landed yet.
How do I say "start doing" with 起来?
Put 起来 after the verb or adjective: 她突然哭起来了。 If there is an object, split it: 下起雨来了, not 下起来雨了。
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.
Directional Complements is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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