Difference between revisions of "Direction complement "-qilai""

Line 1: Line 1:
起来 (qǐlái) comes up very frequently in Chinese and has a variety of meanings. Literally, it is used to express an upward movement:
+
起来 (qǐlái) comes up very frequently in Chinese and has a variety of meanings.  
  
 +
 +
===Expressing an upward movement:===
 +
起来 can be used to like "up" where in English we say "stand up", or "pick up".
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
 
* 大家 站 起来 了。  
 
* 大家 站 起来 了。  
* 垃圾 捡 起来。
+
* 快点把 垃圾 捡 起来。
 +
* 他 把 袜子 收拾 起来 了。
 +
 
 +
As in the final example, 起来 can also have the idea of "collecting together", like "tidy up" in English.
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
  
It can also be used figuratively to express remembering something that was forgotten, and is almost like the speaker is unable to pick the memory out of their mind.
+
===Expressing recollection===
 +
 
 +
It can also be used figuratively to express remembering something that was forgotten, and is almost like the speaker picking memories up out of their mind.
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
Line 15: Line 23:
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
起来 can also be used to show that an action has started:
+
===Expressing initiation of an action===
 +
 
 +
can also be used to show that an action has started:
  
 
* 大家笑起来了 (the same as 大家开始笑)
 
* 大家笑起来了 (the same as 大家开始笑)
Line 24: Line 34:
  
  
起来 can also be used to express a superficial judgement. This is like the speaker has only just started the action, and upon further investigation may find something different. It is used in the following structure:
+
===Expressing a superficial judgement===
 +
 
 +
起来 can also be used to express a superficial judgement. 起来 is used here to express that the speaker has only just initiated an action, and based on that, has made a quick judgement. It is used in the following structure:
  
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
Subject + Verb + 起来 + Adjective
 
Subject + Verb + 起来 + Adjective
 
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
Line 43: Line 53:
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
 
 
 
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==

Revision as of 06:28, 14 November 2011

起来 (qǐlái) comes up very frequently in Chinese and has a variety of meanings.


Expressing an upward movement:

起来 can be used to like "up" where in English we say "stand up", or "pick up".

  • 大家 站 起来 了。
  • 快点把 垃圾 捡 起来。
  • 他 把 袜子 收拾 起来 了。

As in the final example, 起来 can also have the idea of "collecting together", like "tidy up" in English.


Expressing recollection

It can also be used figuratively to express remembering something that was forgotten, and is almost like the speaker picking memories up out of their mind.

  • 我 想 起来 了!我们 是 去年 在 北京 开会 的 时候 见面 的!
  • 不好意思,我 记 不起来 你 的 名字!

Expressing initiation of an action

can also be used to show that an action has started:

  • 大家笑起来了 (the same as 大家开始笑)
  • 两个大妈吵起来了 (the same as 开始吵架)


起来 is often with for spontaneous actions, 起来 cannot be used to for actions which are scheduled


Expressing a superficial judgement

起来 can also be used to express a superficial judgement. 起来 is used here to express that the speaker has only just initiated an action, and based on that, has made a quick judgement. It is used in the following structure:

Subject + Verb + 起来 + Adjective

This expresses that the subject seems adjective when the action of the verb is performed. This structure is frequently used with perception verbs such as 看, 听, 尝 etc.

Some examples:

  • 他 看 起来 很 友好。
  • 那 听 起来 不错。
  • 这 瓶 啤酒 尝 起来 像 比利时的。

See also


Sources and further reading

Websites