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

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{{Grammar Box}}
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起来 (qǐlái) comes up very frequently in Chinese and can be used both literally and figuratively. This is a little like the usage of "up" in English which can be used literally, as in "stand up", or figuratively, as in "add up".  
 
起来 (qǐlái) comes up very frequently in Chinese and can be used both literally and figuratively. This is a little like the usage of "up" in English which can be used literally, as in "stand up", or figuratively, as in "add up".  
  
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==See also==
 
==See also==
* Figurative directional complements [[Result complement "xiaqu"|下去]] and [[Resultative Complement "chu(lai)"|出来]]
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{{Similar|Result complement "xiaqu"|下去}}
* [[Direction complement]]
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{{Similar|Resultative Complement "chu(lai)"|出来}}
* [[Result complements "dao" and "jian"]]
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{{Similar|Direction complement}}
* [[Appearance with "kanqilai"]]
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{{Similar|Result complements "dao" and "jian"}}
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{{Similar|Appearance with "kanqilai"}}
  
 
== Sources and further reading ==
 
== Sources and further reading ==
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* Yale: [http://comet.cls.yale.edu/mandarin/content/directional/grammar/direction-3a.htm Extended meaning of some directional complements]
 
* Yale: [http://comet.cls.yale.edu/mandarin/content/directional/grammar/direction-3a.htm Extended meaning of some directional complements]
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{{Basic Grammar|起来|B1|V + 起来|站 <em>起来</em>!说 <em>起来</em> 容易,做 <em>起来</em> 难。|grammar point|ASGBPXOB}}

Revision as of 06:39, 13 June 2012

起来 (qǐlái) comes up very frequently in Chinese and can be used both literally and figuratively. This is a little like the usage of "up" in English which can be used literally, as in "stand up", or figuratively, as in "add up".

Expressing an upward movement:

起来 can be used to express an upward movement like "up", as in the English examples of "stand up" or "pick up."

  • 大家 站 起来 了。
  • 快点 把 垃圾 捡 起来

Expressing bringing things together

起来 can be used to express collecting things together, where in English we might say "tidy up", or "add up".

  • 请 把13 和 15 加 起来
  • 他 把 袜子 收拾 起来 了。
  • 一个 优秀 的 领袖 会 让 他 的 国民 团结 起来

Expressing an initial judgement

起来 can also be used to express a preliminary 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:

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

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites