Difference between revisions of "Directional verbs "lai" and "qu""

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* 昨天 我们 <em>去</em> 了 酒吧。  <span class="expl">The speaker is not in the bar. </span><span class="pinyin">Zuótiān wǒme <em>qù</em> le jiǔbā. </span> <span class="trans">We wen to the bar yesterday. </span>
 
* 昨天 我们 <em>去</em> 了 酒吧。  <span class="expl">The speaker is not in the bar. </span><span class="pinyin">Zuótiān wǒme <em>qù</em> le jiǔbā. </span> <span class="trans">We wen to the bar yesterday. </span>
 
* 你们 想 <em>去</em> Starbucks 还是 Costa?<span class="expl">We know that the speaker is not in Starbucks or Costa. </span><span class="pinyin"> Nǐmen xiǎng <em>qù</em> Starbucks háishì Costa? </span> <span class="trans">Would you like to go to Starbucks or Costa? </span>
 
* 你们 想 <em>去</em> Starbucks 还是 Costa?<span class="expl">We know that the speaker is not in Starbucks or Costa. </span><span class="pinyin"> Nǐmen xiǎng <em>qù</em> Starbucks háishì Costa? </span> <span class="trans">Would you like to go to Starbucks or Costa? </span>
*  周末 我 常常 和 朋友 <em>去</em> 看 电影。 <span class="expl">The speaker isn't in the cinema at this moment.</span><span class="pinyin">zhōumò chángcháng hé péngyou <em>qù</em> kàn diànyǐng. </span> <span class="trans">I often go to see the movie on weekends with friends. </span>
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*  周末 我 喜欢 <em>去</em> 家 玩。 <span class="expl">The speaker isn't at his friends' place at this moment.</span><span class="pinyin">Zhōumò xǐhuan <em>qù</em> péngyou jiā wán. </span> <span class="trans">I like to go to my friends' place and have fun on weekends. </span>
 
* 爸爸 明天 <em>去</em> 北京 出差。 <span class="expl"> Dad is currently not in Beijing. </span><span class="pinyin">Bàba míngtiān <em>qù</em> Běijīng chūchāi. </span> <span class="trans"> Tomorrow dad will go to Beijing on a business trip. </span>
 
* 爸爸 明天 <em>去</em> 北京 出差。 <span class="expl"> Dad is currently not in Beijing. </span><span class="pinyin">Bàba míngtiān <em>qù</em> Běijīng chūchāi. </span> <span class="trans"> Tomorrow dad will go to Beijing on a business trip. </span>
 
* 我今天 不上班,你们 可以 <em>来</em> 我 家 吃饭。 <span class="expl">The speaker is probably at home.</span><span class="pinyin"> Wǒ jīntiān bù shàngbān, nǐmen kěyǐ <em>lái</em> wǒ jiā chīfàn. </span> <span class="trans">I don't have to go to work today.You can come to my house to eat dinner. </span>
 
* 我今天 不上班,你们 可以 <em>来</em> 我 家 吃饭。 <span class="expl">The speaker is probably at home.</span><span class="pinyin"> Wǒ jīntiān bù shàngbān, nǐmen kěyǐ <em>lái</em> wǒ jiā chīfàn. </span> <span class="trans">I don't have to go to work today.You can come to my house to eat dinner. </span>

Revision as of 01:55, 19 January 2016

Chinese-grammar-wiki-qu.jpg

来 (lái) and 去 (qù) are both words that help to express direction with regards to the speaker. 来 (lái) expresses the location direction of the speaker while 去 (qù) expresses location direction away from the speaker. For example, if you are in China, a local person might ask you: "When did you come to China?" using 来 (lái). Another example is if you want to go from China to Japan, your friends might ask you: “When are you going to Japan?" using 去 (qù). Because of this, it is very important to know when to use 来 (lái) and when to use 去 (qù) correctly.

Basic usage

Structure

来/去 + location

Examples

  • 妈妈 要 超市。 Mom is probably at home.Māma yào chāoshì. Mom will go to the supermarket.
  • 老板 今天 公司 吗?The boss is not in the office.Lǎobǎn jīntiān lái gōngsī ma? Is the boss coming to the office?
  • 你 现在 南京 路 吧。 The speaker is at Nanjing Road. Nǐ xiànzài lái Nánjīng Lù ba. Come to Nanjing Road now.
  • 你 不 想 我们 公司 工作 吗?Nǐ bù xiǎng lái wǒmen gōngsī gōngzuò ma? Do yo not want to come to work for our company?
  • 昨天 我们 了 酒吧。 The speaker is not in the bar. Zuótiān wǒme le jiǔbā. We wen to the bar yesterday.
  • 你们 想 Starbucks 还是 Costa?We know that the speaker is not in Starbucks or Costa. Nǐmen xiǎng Starbucks háishì Costa? Would you like to go to Starbucks or Costa?
  • 周末 我 喜欢 家 玩。 The speaker isn't at his friends' place at this moment.Zhōumò wǒ xǐhuan péngyou jiā wán. I like to go to my friends' place and have fun on weekends.
  • 爸爸 明天 北京 出差。 Dad is currently not in Beijing. Bàba míngtiān Běijīng chūchāi. Tomorrow dad will go to Beijing on a business trip.
  • 我今天 不上班,你们 可以 我 家 吃饭。 The speaker is probably at home. Wǒ jīntiān bù shàngbān, nǐmen kěyǐ lái wǒ jiā chīfàn. I don't have to go to work today.You can come to my house to eat dinner.
  • 去年 她 美国 工作 了 半年。 She is not in America anymore.Qùnián tā Měiguó gōngzuò le bàn nián. She went to work in America for half an year last.

Advanced Usage

来 (lái) and 去 (qù) can both be paired with other verbs to demonstrate the direction an action has taken. For example, 进来 (jìnlái, come in), 进去 (jìnqù, go in), 出来 (chūlái, come out), 出去 (chūqù, go out), 回来 (huílái, come back), 回去 (huíqù, go back), etc. These are called direction complements, and will be covered in detail in a more advanced article.

See also