Figurative Directional Complements in Mandarin: 起来, 下去 and 出来 Beyond Up, Down and Out

The spatial sense first, then the jump

You cannot feel the figurative use until the literal one is solid, so start there. A directional complement is a verb of motion (起, 下, 出, 进, 上, 回 and so on) tacked onto a main verb to say which way the action goes, usually closed off with 来 (lái, towards the speaker) or 去 (qù, away). The literal versions are concrete:

• 站起qǐ来lái (zhàn qǐ lái) - stand up (the body rises)
• 走下xià去qù (zǒu xià qù) - walk on down (movement continues downward and away)
• 跑出chū来lái (pǎo chū lái) - run out (motion from inside to outside, towards me)

The figurative versions keep the shape of the verb-plus-direction but swap the physical journey for an abstract one. The trick is to ask what each direction feels like as a metaphor. Up is where things spring into life. Carrying on downstream is continuation. Coming out into the open is emergence and discernment. Hold those three images and the rest follows. The literal mechanics of attaching these complements are covered in complements and resultative complements; this page is purely about the metaphorical leap.

起来 (qǐ lái): the action springs into being

The core figurative job of 起来 (qǐ lái) is inception - the instant an action or state kicks off. Think of something physically jumping up: that upward burst is the metaphor for a beginning. English reaches for 'start to', 'burst out' or 'break into'.

• 他笑xiào起qǐ来lái (tā xiào qǐ lái) - he burst out laughing (the laughter springs up)
• 天冷lěng起qǐ来lái了 (tiān lěng qǐ lái le) - the weather has started to turn cold
• 大家唱chàng起qǐ来lái了 (dà jiā chàng qǐ lái le) - everyone broke into song
• 孩子哭kū起qǐ来lái了 (hái zi kū qǐ lái le) - the child started crying

Notice this is about the onset, not the duration. 笑起来 (xiào qǐ lái) is the moment the laughing begins, not the laughing carrying on. That contrast with 下去 (xià qù) is the whole game, and we return to it below.

The 起来 (qǐ lái) 'try-to' frame

Separately, 起来 (qǐ lái) has a second figurative life as a framing complement that means roughly 'when you try to ...' or 'on doing ...'. Here it sits after a verb and sets up an assessment of how that action turns out.

• 这个菜吃chī起qǐ来lái很辣 (zhè ge cài chī qǐ lái hěn là) - this dish tastes very spicy (literally: on eating it, it is very spicy)
• 这件事说shuō起qǐ来lái话长 (zhè jiàn shì shuō qǐ lái huà cháng) - it is a long story (on speaking of it, the words are long)
• 这个字写xiě起qǐ来lái很难 (zhè ge zì xiě qǐ lái hěn nán) - this character is hard to write (when you try to write it, it is hard)

The classic set phrase built on this frame is worth memorising whole:

• 说shuō起qǐ来lái容易做zuò起qǐ来lái难 (shuō qǐ lái róng yì zuò qǐ lái nán) - easier said than done (literally: speaking-of-it easy, doing-it hard)

Both halves use the try-to frame: 说起来 (shuō qǐ lái) sets up 'when you go to say it', 做起来 (zuò qǐ lái) sets up 'when you go to do it', and the adjectives 容易 (róng yì) and 难 (nán) deliver the verdict on each. The neat symmetry is why it survives as a proverb.

下去 (xià qù): carry on, keep going

If 起来 (qǐ lái) is the start, 下去 (xià qù) is the continuation. The image is water flowing downstream, or a road carrying on into the distance: the action keeps rolling in the direction it was already going. English says 'keep on', 'carry on', 'go on'.

• 你说shuō下xià去qù (nǐ shuō xià qù) - carry on talking (keep the speech flowing)
• 我们坚jiān持chí下xià去qù (wǒ men jiān chí xià qù) - let us keep at it / persevere
• 这样下xià去qù不行 (zhè yàng xià qù bù xíng) - carrying on like this will not do
• 他读不下xià去qù了 (tā dú bú xià qù le) - he could not go on reading (potential form: the reading cannot continue)

That last example shows 下去 (xià qù) slotting into the potential pattern (verb + 不 (bù)/得 (de) + complement) covered in potential complements. 读得下去 (can go on reading) versus 读不下去 (cannot go on reading) is a clean potential pair built on the continuation sense.

起来 (qǐ lái) versus 下去 (xià qù): onset against continuation

This is the pair to drill, because they are opposite ends of the same timeline. 起来 (qǐ lái) marks the moment something begins; 下去 (xià qù) marks something that is already running being carried further.

• 他唱chàng起qǐ来lái了 (tā chàng qǐ lái le) - he broke into song (the singing starts now)
• 他唱chàng下xià去qù了 (tā chàng xià qù le) - he carried on singing (the singing was already happening and continues)

Same verb 唱 (chàng, to sing), opposite temporal job. Choose 起来 when you mean the action ignites; choose 下去 when you mean an existing action does not stop.

出来 (chū lái): emergence and discernment

出来 (chū lái) has two linked figurative senses, and both come from the literal image of something coming out into view.

The first is plain emergence - something is produced, created or brought into existence, moving from nothing into the open.

• 他想xiǎng出chū来lái一个办法 (tā xiǎng chū lái yí gè bàn fǎ) - he thought up a plan (the idea emerges)
• 厨师做zuò出chū来lái一道新菜 (chú shī zuò chū lái yí dào xīn cài) - the chef created a new dish

The second is discernment - using a sense or the mind, you succeed in making something out, telling it apart, recognising it. The hidden thing comes out into your perception.

• 我看kàn出chū来lái他在说谎 (wǒ kàn chū lái tā zài shuō huǎng) - I could tell he was lying (the truth becomes visible to me)
• 你听tīng出chū来lái了吗 (nǐ tīng chū lái le ma) - did you make it out / could you tell? (by ear)
• 我尝cháng出chū来lái这里面有姜 (wǒ cháng chū lái zhè lǐ miàn yǒu jiāng) - I could taste that there is ginger in this

The unifying idea: whatever was hidden, unformed or not yet noticed comes out where it can be perceived or used. 想出来 (xiǎng chū lái) brings an idea out of nowhere; 看出来 (kàn chū lái) brings a hidden fact out into sight. The 来 (lái) here is towards the perceiver, which is why 出来 (towards me) is far commoner in this sense than 出去 (away from me).

A note on the split form

With an object, 出来 (chū lái) often splits around it, and so do 起来 (qǐ lái) and 下去 (xià qù). The object slots between the verb-direction and the final 来 (lái)/去 (qù):

• 他想xiǎng出来lái了一个好主意 - or more naturally - 他想xiǎng出chū一个好主意来lái (tā xiǎng chū yí gè hǎo zhǔ yi lái) - he came up with a good idea

The split is optional and stylistic; the meaning does not change. For the word-order logic behind where objects can sit, see word order.

Minimal pairs side by side

Hold the verb still and change only the direction. The metaphor does all the work.

The bottom three are the sharpest drill: 说起来 (on trying to say it), 说下去 (keep saying it), 说出来 (get it said, bring it out). One verb, three directions, three completely different jobs.

Common errors

Error 1: using 起来 (qǐ lái) for 'keep going'

Because 起来 (qǐ lái) is the first figurative directional most learners meet, they over-apply it and use it where continuation is meant. 起来 (qǐ lái) is the start, not the carrying on.

• ✗ 你说shuō起qǐ来lái吧，我在听 - WRONG if you mean 'go on talking'. 起来 starts a fresh action. To tell someone to continue an existing one, use 下去: 你说shuō下xià去qù吧，我在听 (nǐ shuō xià qù ba, wǒ zài tīng) - carry on, I am listening.
• 他一坐zuò下就笑xiào起qǐ来lái了 (tā yí zuò xià jiù xiào qǐ lái le) - CORRECT. The laughing begins, so 起来 is right: the moment he sat down he burst out laughing.

Error 2: writing 出去 (chū qù) when discernment needs 出来 (chū lái)

The discernment sense almost always points towards the perceiver, so it takes 来 (lái), not 去 (qù). Learners who think 'the truth went out' reach for 出去 (chū qù) and get it wrong.

• ✗ 我看kàn出chū去qù他在说谎 - WRONG. The hidden fact emerges towards you, the perceiver, so it must be 来: 我看kàn出chū来lái他在说谎 (wǒ kàn chū lái tā zài shuō huǎng) - I could tell he was lying.
• 把灯关guān了，他走zǒu出chū去qù了 - CORRECT but literal. Here 出去 is genuine physical motion away from the speaker: he turned off the light and walked out. Discernment is never 出去.

Error 3: forgetting the aspect particle 了 (le) on a completed onset

A figurative 起来 (qǐ lái) marking a state that has already begun normally pairs with sentence-final 了 (le) to signal the change of state. Leaving it off makes the onset sound incomplete or like a command.

• ✗ 天冷lěng起qǐ来lái - INCOMPLETE as a statement. To say the weather has turned cold, mark the new state with 了: 天冷lěng起qǐ来lái了le (tiān lěng qǐ lái le) - the weather has started to turn cold.
• 我们坚jiān持chí下xià去qù (wǒ men jiān chí xià qù) - CORRECT without 了, because this is a call to keep going, not a report of a completed change. The 了 / change-of-state logic sits in aspect markers.

Error 4: literal-translating the try-to frame as if 起来 (qǐ lái) meant 'up'

The framing 吃起来很辣 (chī qǐ lái hěn là) does not mean 'eat up and it is spicy'. The 起来 (qǐ lái) here is the assessment frame 'on doing it', and the subject of the adjective is the topic, not the eater.

• ✗ Reading 这个菜吃chī起qǐ来lái很辣 as 'eat the dish up, very spicy'. The real sense is this dish tastes spicy - 吃起来 frames the verdict that follows. The dish, not the eater, is what is spicy.

What to drill

1. Map each direction to one metaphor. 起来 (qǐ lái) = it begins (springs up). 下去 (xià qù) = it carries on (flows down and away). 出来 (chū lái) = it emerges into view (comes out). Decide the meaning first, then the direction follows.
2. Drill the 起qǐ来lái (qǐ lái) / 下xià去qù (xià qù) timeline pair. 唱起来了 (broke into song) against 唱下去了 (carried on singing). Onset versus continuation, same verb.
3. Default 出chū来lái (chū lái) to 来lái (lái), not 去qù (qù), for discernment. 看出来 (kàn chū lái), 听出来 (tīng chū lái), 想出来 (xiǎng chū lái) all point at the perceiver. 出去 (chū qù) is for literal motion away from you only.
4. Learn the proverb whole. 说起来容易做起来难 (easier said than done) bakes the try-to frame into one liftable phrase.
5. Pair figurative 起qǐ来lái (qǐ lái) onsets with 了le (le). A turned state - 天冷起来了 (tiān lěng qǐ lái le), 孩子哭起来了 (hái zi kū qǐ lái le) - takes change-of-state 了 (le); a forward-looking 下去 (xià qù) call to continue does not.

For the literal complement machinery these all sit on, see complements and resultative complements. For the can / cannot versions like 读不下去 (dú bú xià qù) and 看得出来 (kàn de chū lái), see potential complements. For the change-of-state 了 (le) that rides with figurative 起来 (qǐ lái), see aspect markers.