Direction complement "-qilai"

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." When used figuratively, 起来 often serves as a direction complement.

Basic Meaning

Structure

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

Verb + 起来

Examples

  • 请 大家 起来Qǐng dàjiā zhàn qǐlái.Everyone, please stand up.
  • 起来Jiǎn qǐlái.Pick it up (from the floor).
  • 起来Tóu tái qǐlái.Raise your head.
  • 别动 ! 起来Bié dòng! shǒu qǐlái.Don't move! Put your hands up.

Used for Initiation of An Action

Structure

起来 can also be used to show that an action or state has started and is ongoing:

Verb / Adj.+ 起来 +了

Examples

  • 小鸟 起来 了 。Xiǎoniǎo fēi qǐlai le.The birds starts flying.
  • 宝宝 起来 了 。 Bǎobao qǐlái le.The baby started crying.
  • 两 个 大妈 起来 了 。 Liǎng gè dàmā chǎo qǐlái le.Two middle-aged ladies started arguing.
  • 天气 起来 了 。 Tiānqì qǐlái le.It's starting to get hot.
  • 结婚 以后 ,她 起来 了 。 Jiéhūn yǐhòu tā pàng qǐlái le.She is getting fat after she gets married.
  • 他 的 身体 起来 了 。 Tā de shēntǐ hǎo qǐlái le.His health is starting to get better.

When used like this, 起来 is only used with spontaneous actions, like 唱 (chàng), 跳 (tiào), 聊 (liáo), or with states like 热 (rè), 冷 (lěng), or 好 (hǎo) etc. It cannot be used with planned actions.

  • 我们 做饭 起来 吧。Wǒmen zuòfàn qǐlái ba.
  • 我们 开始 做饭 吧 。Wǒmen kāishǐ zuòfàn ba.

It can also used as a way to encourage people to start doing something immediately:

  • 大家 起来 起来 ! Dàjiā chàng qǐlái, tiào qǐlái !Let's sing and dance!

Used for 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:

Structure

Subj. + Verb + 起来 + Adv. + Adj.

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.

Examples

  • 起来 很 友好 。kànqǐlái hěn yǒuhǎo.He looks very friendly.
  • 你 的 头发 起来 很 香 。Nǐ de tóufa wén qǐlai hěn xiāng.Your hair smells good.
  • 这 件 事情 起来 有点 复杂 。Zhè jiàn shìqing tīng qǐlái yǒudiǎn fùzá.This matter sounds a little bit complex.
  • 你 做 的 菜 起来 不错 。Nǐ zuò de cài cháng qǐlái bùcuò.The food that you cooked taste good.
  • 这 件 衣服 起来 很 舒服 。Zhè jiàn yīfu qǐlái hěn shūfu.These clothes feel very comfortable.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

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