1. Home
  2. Grammar Points
  3. Advanced uses of direction complement 起来 ("qi3lai2")

Advanced uses of direction complement 起来 ("qi3lai2")

起来 qǐlái

Grammar
HSK 4

Structure

Verb + 起来 Subj. + 把 + Obj. + Verb + 起来

Definition

起来作为趋向补语的进阶用法，除了表示动作由下向上的方向外，还表示动作开始并持续、动作完成后的结果、对事物的评价或总结等。

As a direction complement, 起来 has advanced uses beyond indicating upward movement, including the beginning and continuation of an action, the result after completing an action, evaluation or summary of a situation, etc.

Usage

用于动词后，表示动作开始并持续（如‘笑起来’）、动作完成后给人的印象或评价（如‘看起来不错’）、从某方面进行总结（如‘说起来容易’）。

Used after verbs to indicate the start and continuation of an action (e.g., 'laugh'), the impression or evaluation after an action (e.g., 'looks good'), or summarizing from a certain aspect (e.g., 'easy to say').

Examples

  • 1 她听到笑话后笑了起来。 (She laughed after hearing the joke.)
  • 2 这道菜闻起来很香。 (This dish smells delicious.)
  • 3 说起来简单，做起来难。 (It's easy to say, but hard to do.)
  • 4 他看起来心情不错。 (He looks like he's in a good mood.)
  • 5 大家唱起歌来，气氛很热闹。 (Everyone started singing, and the atmosphere became lively.)

Put it into practice

Exam-style HSK drills with instant scoring and explanations.

Find my HSK level

Free · about 3 minutes · no account needed