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Level Independent Chinese · HSK 3

起来, 出来, 下去 and 下来: Figurative Direction Complements

Up, out, down and on have figurative meanings in English: "cheer up", "figure out", "carry on", "write down". Chinese direction complements do the same, and many of the figurative ones are so common that they're the first meaning people think of.

起来: start, seem, recall

起来 (qǐlai) after a verb can mean "start to" (笑起来, burst out laughing), "when you try it, it seems" (看起来, 听起来, 吃起来), or "recall" (想起来). An object goes between 起 and 来: 下起雨来.

  • 他突然笑了起来。

    Tā tūrán xiào le qǐlai.

    He suddenly burst out laughing.

  • 外面下起雨来了。

    Wàimiàn xià qǐ yǔ lai le.

    It's started raining outside.

  • 这个菜看起来很好吃。

    Zhège cài kàn qǐlai hěn hǎochī.

    This dish looks delicious.

  • 我想起来了！

    Wǒ xiǎng qǐlai le!

    Now I remember!

出来: make out, come up with

出来 (chūlai) after a verb of perception means you could tell or identify something: 看出来, 听出来, 认出来. 想出来 is to come up with something new (想起来 is to recall something you knew).

  • 我听出来了，是你！

    Wǒ tīng chūlai le, shì nǐ!

    I recognised your voice. It's you!

  • 你认不出来我了吗？

    Nǐ rèn bu chūlai wǒ le ma?

    Don't you recognise me?

  • 我想出来一个好办法。

    Wǒ xiǎng chūlai yí ge hǎo bànfǎ.

    I've come up with a good idea.

下去 and 下来: keep going, come to rest

下去 (xiàqu) means carrying on from now into the future: 说下去 (go on talking), 坚持下去 (keep at it). 下来 (xiàlai) means coming to a stop, being recorded, or lasting up to now: 停下来 (stop), 记下来 (write down), 传下来 (be handed down).

  • 请说下去。

    Qǐng shuō xiàqu.

    Please go on.

  • 你要坚持下去。

    Nǐ yào jiānchí xiàqu.

    You have to keep going.

  • 车停下来了。

    Chē tíng xiàlai le.

    The car came to a stop.

  • 请把电话号码记下来。

    Qǐng bǎ diànhuà hàomǎ jì xiàlai.

    Please write down the phone number.

Looks and comes across: 看上去, 显得, 上来

看上去 (kàn shàngqu) is "looks" to the eye; 看起来 also covers "seems" more broadly. 显得 + adjective is "comes across as". 上来 in 说不上来 and 答不上来 means you can't quite produce an answer.

  • 她今天显得很累。

    Tā jīntiān xiǎnde hěn lèi.

    She seems very tired today.

  • 这个问题我答不上来。

    Zhège wèntí wǒ dá bu shànglai.

    I can't answer this question.

Common mistakes

  • ✗我想出来他的名字了。 (meaning you remembered it)

    ✓我想起来他的名字了。

    Wǒ xiǎng qǐlai tā de míngzi le.

    Recalling something you already knew is 想起来. 想出来 is inventing something new.

  • ✗下雨起来了。

    ✓下起雨来了。

    Xià qǐ yǔ lai le.

    With 起来, the object goes between 起 and 来.

  • ✗请说下来。 (meaning "please continue")

    ✓请说下去。

    Qǐng shuō xiàqu.

    Continuing into the future is 下去. 下来 points to stopping or recording.

Questions learners ask

Are 来 and 去 stressed in these?

No, they're usually said lightly. In 想起来 and 看出来 the whole complement is often unstressed.

How do I learn all the meanings?

Learn them as whole words with an example: 想起来 (recall), 看出来 (tell), 坚持下去 (keep going). The meanings are less logical than they look, just like English phrasal verbs.

Practice this in lessons

The Independent Chinese lessons teach this step by step, with exercises and review built in.

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