Advanced result complements "zhu", "kai", and "chulai"

Verb Followed by 住

住 can be used to express a "coming to a halt".

Examples

  • 站住!你 不 能 走 !Stop! You can't go!
  • 抓住 那个 小偷 !Catch that thief!
  • 不 好意思,你 挡住 了 我 的 路 。Excuse me. You're standing in my way.
  • 前面 两 辆 大卡车 堵住 了 整 条 路 。The two trucks ahead are blocking the entire road.

住 can be used to express "undertaking an action firmly" or "tightly".

  • 大家 都 记 了 吗 ?Has everyone kept that in mind yet?
  • 你 必须 抓住 机会 。You must seize the opportunity tightly.
  • 看住 你 的 小狗,别 让 它 乱 跑。Keep an eye on your dog. Don't let him just run around.

Verb Followed by 开

开 (kāi) means "to open," but when used as a complement can mean different things with different verbs.

Examples

开 can be used literally to mean "open up" or "turn on":

  • 张开 嘴 。Open your mouth.
  • 打开 课本 。Please open your textbook.
  • 他 早上 一 睁开 眼 就 打开 手机 玩 游戏 。He turned on his cell phone to play games as soon as he opened his eyes this morning.

开 can be used to express an action that is occurring in a direction away from the speaker. When used in this sense, 开 is generally used with verbs involving releasing, unfolding or spreading out:

  • 走开Go away!
  • 放开 我!Let go of me!
  • 这个 新闻 很快 就 传开 了 。This news spread out very soon.

开 can be also used to express solving a problem or getting a weight off one's mind.

  • 看开 一点,生活 还是 要 继续 的 。You should look on the bright side. Life still goes on.
  • 这 件 事 他 一直 想不开He hasn't been able to get this off his mind.
  • 我们 把 问题 都 说开 了。We talked about all the problems openly.

Verb Followed by 出来

出(来) can be used figuratively to mean "nothing to coming into being" or "to come up with".

Examples

  • 你 能 想 出 什么 好 办法 ?What good ideas can you come up with?
  • 别 猜 了,你们 肯定 猜 不 出 我 的 新 男朋友 是 谁 。Stop guessing. There's no way for you to figure out who my new boy friend is.
  • 这些 数学 题 有点 难 ,我 花 了 一个 小时 才 做 出来These math problems are a little bit difficult. It took me an hour to work them out.
  • 一万 字 的 文章 我 写 不 出来I can't write a ten-thousand-word article.

跟感官动词搭配时,"出(来)"表示"to tell or to distinguish".

  • 她 肯定 是 北方人,我 能 听 出来She must be from the north. I can hear it.
  • 你 能 看 出来 我 多大 吗 ?Can you tell how old I am?
  • 菜 里面 有 味精 ,我 能 吃 出来Can you tell how old I am?
  • 这 个 东西 是 用 什么 做 的 ?你 能 摸 出来 吗 ?What's this thing made of? Can you feel it?
  • 你 抽烟 了 吧 ?别 骗 我 ,我 都 闻 出来 了 。Were you smoking? Don't lie to me because I can smell it.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK5