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

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{{Grammar Box}}
 
{{Grammar Box}}
  
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.
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来 (lái) and 去 (qù) are both words that help to express direction from the perspective of the speaker. 来 (lái) means "come" (towards the speaker), while 去 (qù) means "go" (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).
  
== Basic usage ==
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Seems really easy, right? Well, learn them well now, because you'll get a lot of mileage out of these words in future grammar patterns.
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== Basic Usage ==
  
 
=== Structure ===
 
=== Structure ===
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<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
  
来/去 + location
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来 / 去 + Place
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
 
=== Examples ===
 
=== Examples ===
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For the examples below, keep in mind that if the speaker uses 去 (qù), then she is not at the place mentioned ''now''. If the speaker uses 来 (lái), she must already be at the place mentioned. Just stay consistent with this, and you're good.
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
* 妈妈 要 <em>去</em> 超市。 <span class="expl">Mom is probably at home.</span><span class="pinyin">Māma yào <em>qù</em> chāoshì.</span> <span class="trans">Mom will go to the supermarket.</span>
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* 妈妈 要 <em>去</em> 超市。<span class="pinyin">Māma yào <em>qù</em> chāoshì.</span><span class="trans">Mom will go to the supermarket.</span>
* 老板 <em>来</em> 公司 了。 <span class="expl">The boss is already in the office.</span><span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>lái</em> gōngsī le.</span> <span class="trans">The boss is at the office.</span>
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* 老板 今天 <em>来</em> 公司 吗?<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn jīntiān <em>lái</em> gōngsī ma?</span><span class="trans">Is the boss coming into the office today?</span>
* 你 <em>来</em>南京 路 吧 。 <span class="expl">The speaker is at Nanjing Road.</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>lái</em> Nánjīng Lù ba.</span> <span class="trans">Come to Nanjing Road.</span>
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* 你 现在 <em>来</em>南京 路 吧。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ xiànzài <em>lái</em> Nánjīng Lù ba.</span><span class="trans">Come to Nanjing Road now.</span>
* 这 个 女孩 <em>来</em> 我们 公司 三 个 多 月 了 。 <span class="expl">We know that this girl and the speaker are both in the same office.</span><span class="pinyin">Zhè ge nǚhái <em>lái</em> wǒmen gōngsī yī gè yuè le.</span> <span class="trans">This girl's worked in our office for more than 3 months.</span>
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* 你 不 想 <em>来</em> 我们 公司 工作 吗?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ bù xiǎng <em>lái</em> wǒmen gōngsī gōngzuò ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you not want to come to work for our company? </span>
* 昨天 我们 <em>去</em> 了 酒吧。 <span class="pinyin">Zuótiān wǒme <em>qù</em> le jiǔbā.</span> <span class="trans">We wen to the bar yesterday.</span>
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* 去年 她 <em>去</em> 美国 工作 了 几 个 月 。<span class="pinyin">Qùnián tā <em></em> Měiguó gōngzuò le jǐ gè yuè.</span><span class="trans">Last year she went to work in the USA for a few months.</span>
* 他 <em>来</em> 上海 工作 一 年 了 。 <span class="expl">We know that this person is currently in Shanghai.</span><span class="pinyin"><em>lái</em> Shànghǎi gōngzuò yī nián le.</span> <span class="trans">He's been working in Shanghai for one year.</span>
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* 你们 想 <em>去</em> Starbucks 还是 Costa?<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>
* 我 上大学 的 时候 <em>去</em> 美国 待 了 半年。 <span class="expl">This person is not in America anymore.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ shàng daxué de shíhou <em>qù</em>Měiguó dāi le bàn nián.</span> <span class="trans">I went to stay in America for half an year when I was in college.</span>
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* 周末 喜欢 <em>去</em> 朋友 家。<span class="pinyin">Zhōumò wǒ xǐhuan <em>qù</em> péngyou jiā.</span><span class="trans">I like to go to my friends' places on the weekends.</span>
* 我 和 朋友 经常 <em>去</em> 星巴克 喝 咖啡 。 <span class="expl">The speaker isn't in this moment at Starbucks.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ hé péngyou jīngcháng <em>qù</em> Xīngbākè hē kāfēi.</span> <span class="trans">I often go to Starbucks to drink coffee with friends.</span>
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* 爸爸 明天 <em>去</em> 北京 出差。<span class="pinyin">Bàba míngtiān <em>qù</em> Běijīng chūchāi.</span><span class="trans">Dad will go to Beijing on a business trip tomorrow.</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>
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* 我 今天 不 上班,你们 可以 <em>来</em> 我 家 吃饭 <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 home to eat dinner.</span>
* 我今天 不上班,你们 <em>来</em> 我 家 吃饭 吧。 <span class="expl">The speaker is probably in her own home.</span><span class="pinyin"> Wǒ jīntiān bù shàngbān, nǐmen <em>lái</em> wǒ jiā chīfàn ba.</span> <span class="trans">I don't have to go to work today.You can come to my house to eat dinner.</span>
 
  
 
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== Advanced Usage ==
 
== 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 [[direction complement|more advanced article]].
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来 (lái) and  去 (qù) can both be paired with other simple verbs to demonstrate the direction an action has taken. For example, 进来 (jìnlai, "come in"),  进去 (jìnqu, "go in"),  出来 (chūlai, "come out"),  出去 (chūqu, "go out"), 回来 (huílai, "come back"), 回去 (huíqu, "go back"), etc.
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When you start tacking these two-character verbs onto the ends of other verbs, they are called [[direction complement]]s, and are covered in detail in a more advanced article.
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
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=== Books === -->
 
=== Books === -->
 
 
  
 
[[Category:A2 grammar points]]
 
[[Category:A2 grammar points]]
{{Basic Grammar|来|A2|来/去 + location|我 <em>来</em> 上海 一 年 了。|grammar point|ASGRBKSL}}
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{{HSK|HSK1}}{{2021-HSK|HSK1}}
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{{Basic Grammar|来|A2|来 / 去 + Place|我 <em>来</em> 上海 一 年 了。|grammar point|ASGRBKSL}}
 
{{Rel char|去}}
 
{{Rel char|去}}
 
{{Similar|Direction complement}}   
 
{{Similar|Direction complement}}   
 
{{Used for|Expressing movement}}
 
{{Used for|Expressing movement}}
 
{{POS|Verbs}}
 
{{POS|Verbs}}

Latest revision as of 09:22, 20 April 2021

Chinese-grammar-wiki-qu.jpg

来 (lái) and 去 (qù) are both words that help to express direction from the perspective of the speaker. 来 (lái) means "come" (towards the speaker), while 去 (qù) means "go" (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).

Seems really easy, right? Well, learn them well now, because you'll get a lot of mileage out of these words in future grammar patterns.

Basic Usage

Structure

来 / 去 + Place

Examples

For the examples below, keep in mind that if the speaker uses 去 (qù), then she is not at the place mentioned now. If the speaker uses 来 (lái), she must already be at the place mentioned. Just stay consistent with this, and you're good.

  • 妈妈 要 超市。Māma yào chāoshì.Mom will go to the supermarket.
  • 老板 今天 公司 吗?Lǎobǎn jīntiān lái gōngsī ma?Is the boss coming into the office today?
  • 你 现在 南京 路 吧。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 you not want to come to work for our company?
  • 去年 她 美国 工作 了 几 个 月 。Qùnián tā Měiguó gōngzuò le jǐ gè yuè.Last year she went to work in the USA for a few months.
  • 你们 想 Starbucks 还是 Costa? Nǐmen xiǎng Starbucks háishì Costa? Would you like to go to Starbucks or Costa?
  • 周末 我 喜欢 朋友 家。Zhōumò wǒ xǐhuan péngyou jiā.I like to go to my friends' places on the weekends.
  • 爸爸 明天 北京 出差。Bàba míngtiān Běijīng chūchāi.Dad will go to Beijing on a business trip tomorrow.
  • 我 今天 不 上班,你们 可以 我 家 吃饭 。Wǒ jīntiān bù shàngbān, nǐmen kěyǐ lái wǒ jiā chīfàn.I don't have to go to work today. You can come to my home to eat dinner.

Advanced Usage

来 (lái) and 去 (qù) can both be paired with other simple verbs to demonstrate the direction an action has taken. For example, 进来 (jìnlai, "come in"), 进去 (jìnqu, "go in"), 出来 (chūlai, "come out"), 出去 (chūqu, "go out"), 回来 (huílai, "come back"), 回去 (huíqu, "go back"), etc.

When you start tacking these two-character verbs onto the ends of other verbs, they are called direction complements, and are covered in detail in a more advanced article.

See also