Direction complement

Also known as: 趋向补语 (qūxiàng bǔyǔ), directional complement and complement of direction.

A direction complement is a complement that's used, you guessed it, to describe the direction of the action of a verb.

Coming and going

The most basic (and common) form of direction complement is formed by a verb and 来 or 去:

Verb + 来 / 去

The most important thing to consider with direction complements is the position of the speaker. If the action moves towards the speaker or comes closer in any way, use 来. If the action moves away from the speaker or becomes more distant in any way, use 去.

Direction complement examples

	Direction	Verb	Complement	Explanation
Position of speaker	←	下	下来	(xiàlái) The movement is down towards the speaker: "come down"
	→	下	下去	(xiàqù) The movement is down away from the speaker: "go down"
	←	上	上来	(shànglái) The movement is up towards the speaker: "come up"
	→	上	上去	(shàngqù) The movement is up and away from the speaker: "go up"
	←	出	出来	(chūlái) The movement is out and towards the speaker: "come out"
	→	出	出去	(chūqù) The movement is out and away from the speaker: "go out"
	←	进	进来	(jìnlái) The movement is in and towards the speaker: "come in"
	→	进	进去	(jìnqù) The movement is in and away from the speaker: "go in"

You might be wondering how the directional distinction between 来 and 去 works when you're talking about yourself moving. You can't move away from or towards yourself, so should it be 来 or 去? The answer is to look at the context of the movement you're talking about. Are you telling someone you'll see them tomorrow? As in English, in Chinese you'd say something like "I'll come and see you tomorrow".

Usage examples

You can use these simple compounds in a huge variety of situations. Here are some examples:

• 我 在 楼上，请 你十分钟以后上来。Wǒ zài lóushàng, qǐng nǐ shí fēnzhōng yǐhòu shànglái.I'm on the upper floor. Please come up in ten minutes.
• 在树上 玩 很 危险，你 快下来!Zài shù shàng wán hěn wéixiǎn, nǐ kuài xiàlái!It's too dangerous to play in the tree! Come down!
• 你 在 楼上 等 我 一下 。我 一会儿 就 上去 找 你。Nǐ zài lóushàng děng wǒ yīxià. Wǒ yīhuǐ'er jiù shàngqù zhǎo nǐ.Please wait a moment on the upper floor. I'm coming up to you in a few seconds.
• 我 在 楼下 ， 你 赶快 下来 吧。Wǒ zài lóuxià, nǐ gǎnkuài xiàlái ba.I'm on the lower floor. Please come down to me.

• 里面 人 太 多 了 ，你们 出来 透透气 吧 。Lǐmiàn rén tài duō le, nǐmen chūlái tòu tòuqì ba.There are too many people inside there.You guys need to get out and use some fresh air.
• 我们 在 里面 开会， 大家 都 进来 吧。Wǒmen zài lǐmiàn kāihuì, dàjiā dōu jìnlái ba.We are going to have a meeting inside.Please come in here.
• 他们 在 外面，咱们 出去 跟 他们 见面。Tāmen zài wàimiàn, zánmen chūqù gēn tāmen jiànmiàn.They are outside. We should go out and meet them.
• 他 在 办公室里 等你，你 快进去 吧。Tā zài bàngōngshì lǐ děng nǐ, nǐ kuài jìnqù ba.He is waiting for you in his office.You can go in now.

With other verbs

来 and 去 can form direction compounds with many other verbs. Some more examples:

• 你 什么时候 回来 ？Nǐ shénme shíhou huílái?When are you coming back?
• 他 明天 一个人回去。Tā míngtiān yīgèrén huíqù.He is going back alone tomorrow.

• 你 过来 把 你的 东西 收拾 好 。Nǐ guòlái bǎ nǐ de dōngxi shōushí hǎo.Come here and put away you own stuff.
• 我 看到 马路 对面 新开 了 一家 蛋糕 店 ，就 走 过去 了。Wǒ kàndào mǎlù duìmiàn xīn kāi le yījiā dàngāo diàn, jiù zǒu guòqù le.I saw a new cake shop on the other side of the road and then I went up to it.

Adding a place with 到

Direction complements are very useful for talking about arriving at destinations. The structure for this is:

到 + Place + 来 or 去

Notice that you separate the verb from its direction complement. The location goes in between the two. Some examples:

• 我 妹妹 到 上海 来 了。Wǒ mèimei dào Shànghǎi lái le.My sister arrived in Shanghai.
• 你 想 到 我家 来 吗？Nǐ xiǎng dào wǒjiā lái ma?Do you want to come to my house?
• 我 明年 会 到 巴黎 去。Wǒ míngnián huì dào Bālí qù.I'm going to Paris next year.
• 他 没有 到 中国 去 过。Tā méiyǒu dào Zhōngguó qù guò.He hasn't gone to China.

Compound direction complements

Direction complements can be more complex than just 来 or 去. You can form compound direction complements in the following way:

Compound direction complements

	上	下	进	出	回	过	起
来	上来	下来	进来	出来	回来	过来	起来
去	上去	下去	进去	出去	回去	过去	-

These compounds can then be used in the same way as 来 and 去. Attach them to verbs to give detail about the direction of the action. Some examples:

Compound direction complement examples

Subj.	Verb	Direction complement	Pinyin
你	坐	下来。	Nǐ zuò xiàlái.
他	走	进来。	Tā zǒu jìnlái.
她	坐飞机	回来 。	Tā zuò fēijī huílái.
我们	走	出来。	Wǒmen zǒu chūlái.
你	跑步	过来 。	Nǐ pǎobù guòlái.
你们	站	起来 。	Nǐmen zhàn qǐlái.
咱们	走	下去 。	Zánmen zǒu xiàqù.

Direction complements and objects

Direction complements are not only used to describe the movement of people. Moving objects can also be described with direction complements. Again, the direction of the movement relative to the speaker (or at least to the context of the conversation) is what's most important when deciding what complement to use.

Subj. + Verb + Direction Complement + Obj.

This is the structure for the basic form of a sentence with a direction complement and an object. Verbs that commonly appear in this construction include 拿, 送, and 带. Some examples:

• 我 带 来 了 一 些 水果 。Wǒ dài lái le yīxiē shuǐguǒ.I brought some fruit.
• 我 从 书架 上 拿 下来 一 本 书 。Wǒ cóng shūjià shàng ná xiàlái yī běn shū.I took a book down from the bookshelf.
• 他 给 我 送 来 了 一 朵 花 。Tā gěi wǒ sòng lái le yī duǒ huā.He gave me some flowers.
• 放 下 你的 枪 ！Fàngxià nǐ de qiāng!Put down your gun!

Direction complements and 把

Direction complements work very well in 把 sentences, as they can be used to describe the disposal of an object (what happened to it in the end). Because of this, it's very common to see direction complements and 把 appearing together. The structure is:

Subj. + 把 + Obj. + Verb + Direction Complement

The above examples can be re-arranged into 把 sentences:

• 我 把 一些 水果 带 来 了。Wǒ bǎ yīxiē shuǐguǒ dài lái le.I brought along some fruit.
• 我 把 一 本 书 从 书架 上 拿 下来 了。Wǒ bǎ yī běn shū cóng shūjià shàng ná xiàlái le.I picked up one book from the bookshelf and put it down.
• 他 把 一 朵 花 给 我 送 去 了。Tā bǎ yī duǒ huā gěi wǒ sòng qù le.He gave away a flower.
• 把 你的 手枪 放 下来！Bǎ nǐ de shǒuqiāng fàng xiàlái!Put down your gun!

See also: 把 sentences

Negating direction complements

Direction complements are negated in the same way as other complements. Treat the verb and direction complement as a compound verb, and negate it with 不 or 没有:

Subj. + 不 or 没有 + Verb + Direction Complement

Some examples:

• 我 不会 回 去 。Wǒ bù huì huí qù.I cannot go back.
• 文件 还 没有 送 过来。Wénjiàn hái méiyǒu sòng guòlái.The document still has not arrived.
• 他的 车 还 没有 开 回来 。Tā de jū hái méiyǒu kāi huílái.His car hasn't been driven back yet.

Direction complements in questions

You can form questions with sentences containing result complements just as you would with any other sentence:

• With a question particle
• With a question word
• With positive-negative inversion

Some examples:

• 你 到 上海 来 了 吗？Nǐ dào Shànghǎi lái le ma?Have you arrived at Shanghai?
• 这 个 楼 很 高 － 你 能 上去 吗？Zhège lóu hěn gāo - nǐ néng shàngqù ma?This building is very tall, are you able to go up?

• 刚才 从 那 个 楼房 出来 的 人 是 谁？Gāngcái cóng nàge lóufáng chūlái de rén shì shuí?Who is that person who just came out of that building?
• 你 什么 时候 会 回来？Nǐ shénme shíhou huì huílái?When will you come back?

• 你 想 不想 跟 我 出去？Nǐ xiǎng bu xiǎng gēn wǒ chūqù?Do you want to go out with me?
• 你 能 不能 把 这 个 盒子 拿 起来？Nǐ néng bu néng bǎ zhège hézi ná qǐlái?Are you able to pick up this box?

Direction complements with aspect particles

The aspect particles 了 and 过 can be used with direction complements. These are placed after the direction complement. 着 cannot be used with direction complements.

Some examples:

• 我 回来 了。Wǒ huílái le.I came back.
• 他 走 出来 了。Tā zǒu chūlái le.He walked out (towards the speaker).
• 我 带来 了 我的 朋友。Wǒ dài lái le wǒ de péngyou.I brought my friend.

• 离开 中国 以后，他 没有 回来 过。Líkāi Zhōngguó yǐhòu, tā méiyǒu huílái guò.After leaving China, he hasn't come back.
• 我 在 上海 出去 过 几 次。Wǒ zài Shànghǎi chūqù guò jǐ cì.I've gone to Shanghai a number of times.
• 我 没 进去 过 那 间 房间。Wǒ méi jìnqù guò nà jiān fángjiān.I haven't gone in that room.

Additional meanings of direction complements

A lot of direction complements, particularly compound direction complements, have additional idiomatic meanings beyond literally describing the direction of an action. The most common of these are:

• 起来
• 出来
• 下去

See also

• Result complement
• Potential complement
• Degree complement

Sources and further reading

Books

• A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 302-17) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 165) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 185-9) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 267-8) →buy
• Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 58-65) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 40-1, 197-8) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册） (pp. 313-4)→buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 238-9, 255)→buy

Websites

• Mandarin Essential Grammar (Yale): Directional Complements

Videos

Yoyo Chinese: Introduction to complement of direction