Directional Complements: Coming And Going In Simplified Chinese
方向补语：来和去 fāngxiàng bǔyǔ: lái hé qù — small words, big difference, and yes, they absolutely can make you sound lost if you guess.
If you want to say come in, go out, bring it here, or take it back in Chinese, you need directional complements. The stars of the show are 来 lái and 去 qù. They tell you whether the action moves toward the speaker or away from the speaker.
Once that viewpoint clicks, a lot of everyday Chinese suddenly stops feeling random. Nice. Grammar behaving itself for once.
Yak Snark Box
English often cares about the destination first: “come” or “go.” Chinese cares about the speaker’s viewpoint. So 过来 guòlái and 过去 guòqù are not twins. They are siblings who fight over camera angle.
The Core Idea
The most basic pattern is:
- 动词 + 来 dòngcí + lái — movement toward the speaker
- 动词 + 去 dòngcí + qù — movement away from the speaker
That means the same action can point in two different directions depending on where the speaker is standing, sitting, waiting, or dramatically waving their hands.
| Pattern | Meaning | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 拿来 ná lái | bring here | 把手机拿来。 bǎ shǒujī ná lái. | Bring the phone here. |
| 拿去 ná qù | take away | 把这个拿去。 bǎ zhège ná qù. | Take this away. |
| 进来 jìnlái | come in | 你先进来。 nǐ xiān jìnlái. | Come in first. |
| 进去 jìnqù | go in | 他已经进去。 tā yǐjīng jìnqù. | He already went in. |
| 出来 chūlái | come out | 你快出来。 nǐ kuài chūlái. | Come out quickly. |
| 出去 chūqù | go out | 他们出去吃饭了。 tāmen chūqù chīfàn le. | They went out to eat. |
The Rule That Actually Matters
来 lái means the movement comes toward the speaker. 去 qù means the movement goes away from the speaker.
Look at these two:
- 你过来。 nǐ guòlái. — Come over here.
- 你过去。 nǐ guòqù. — Go over there.
The action is similar: crossing from one side to another. The difference is viewpoint. That is the whole game.
How Compound Direction Works
Chinese often stacks direction in two parts:
- The first part shows the path: 上 shàng up, 下 xià down, 进 jìn in, 出 chū out, 回 huí back, 过 guò over
- The second part shows viewpoint: 来 lái toward me, 去 qù away from me
So:
- 上来 shànglái — come up
- 上去 shàngqù — go up
- 下来 xiàlái — come down
- 下去 xiàqù — go down
- 回来 huílái — come back
- 回去 huíqù — go back
Once you stop translating word by word and start seeing the path plus viewpoint, these become much easier.
Six Direction Pairs You Will Actually Use
进来 jìnlái
Meaning: come in
Example: 你们都进来吧。
nǐmen dōu jìnlái ba.
Come in, everyone.
出来 chūlái
Meaning: come out
Example: 快出来拍照。
kuài chūlái pāizhào.
Come out for a photo.
回来 huílái
Meaning: come back
Example: 你几点回来？
nǐ jǐ diǎn huílái?
What time are you coming back?
进去 jìnqù
Meaning: go in
Example: 他先进去找座位。
tā xiān jìnqù zhǎo zuòwèi.
He went in first to find seats.
出去 chūqù
Meaning: go out
Example: 我们晚上出去吃吧。
wǒmen wǎnshang chūqù chī ba.
Let’s go out to eat tonight.
回去 huíqù
Meaning: go back
Example: 我明天回去上班。
wǒ míngtiān huíqù shàngbān.
I’m going back to work tomorrow.
Useful Phrases And Real-Life Sentences
- 过来 guòlái — come over
你过来一下。
nǐ guòlái yīxià.
Come over for a second. - 过去 guòqù — go over
你先过去，我马上到。
nǐ xiān guòqù, wǒ mǎshàng dào.
You go over first. I’ll be there soon. - 上来 shànglái — come up
你上来看看。
nǐ shànglái kànkan.
Come up and take a look. - 上去 shàngqù — go up
他跑上去了。
tā pǎo shàngqù le.
He ran up there. - 下来 xiàlái — come down
你快下来吃饭。
nǐ kuài xiàlái chīfàn.
Come down and eat. - 下去 xiàqù — go down
我们坐电梯下去。
wǒmen zuò diàntī xiàqù.
We’re taking the elevator down. - 拿来 ná lái — bring here
把菜单拿来。
bǎ càidān ná lái.
Bring the menu here. - 拿去 ná qù — take away
把这些文件拿去办公室。
bǎ zhèxiē wénjiàn ná qù bàngōngshì.
Take these documents to the office. - 带进来 dài jìnlái — bring in
不要把饮料带进来。
búyào bǎ yǐnliào dài jìnlái.
Don’t bring drinks in. - 带出去 dài chūqù — take out
你可以把咖啡带出去。
nǐ kěyǐ bǎ kāfēi dài chūqù.
You can take the coffee out. - 搬回来 bān huílái — move back here
他下个月搬回来。
tā xià gè yuè bān huílái.
He’s moving back next month. - 送过去 sòng guòqù — deliver over there
我下午给你送过去。
wǒ xiàwǔ gěi nǐ sòng guòqù.
I’ll deliver it over to you this afternoon.
One Tiny Shift, Two Different Meanings
Compare these pairs carefully:
- 走进来 zǒu jìnlái — walk in toward me
他从门口走进来。
tā cóng ménkǒu zǒu jìnlái.
He walked in through the doorway toward me. - 走进去 zǒu jìnqù — walk in away from me
他走进去找老师。
tā zǒu jìnqù zhǎo lǎoshī.
He walked in to find the teacher. - 跑过来 pǎo guòlái — run over here
小狗跑过来了。
xiǎogǒu pǎo guòlái le.
The puppy ran over here. - 跑过去 pǎo guòqù — run over there
孩子们跑过去玩。
háizimen pǎo guòqù wán.
The children ran over there to play.
Same base action. Different viewpoint. That is why translating too literally can trip you up.
A Useful Note About Objects
With everyday commands, Chinese often puts the object before the directional complement:
- 把书拿过来。 bǎ shū ná guòlái. — Bring the book over here.
- 把垃圾拿出去。 bǎ lājī ná chūqù. — Take the trash out.
Do not panic and try to memorize every object pattern on day one. First lock in the direction. Then the rest gets much less dramatic.
Practice Section
Pick 来 lái or 去 qù to finish each sentence.
- 你快进___。
nǐ kuài jìn___.
Come in quickly. - 我现在过___找你。
wǒ xiànzài guò___ zhǎo nǐ.
I’m coming over now to find you. - 他们拿出___了。
tāmen ná chū___ le.
They took it out and away. - 你几点回___？
nǐ jǐ diǎn huí___?
What time are you coming back? - 猫跑上___了。
māo pǎo shàng___ le.
The cat ran up there.
Answers
- 进来 jìnlái
- 过来 guòlái
- 出去 chūqù
- 回来 huílái
- 上去 shàngqù
Common Mistakes And Fast Fixes
- Mistake: treating 来 lái as only “come” and 去 qù as only “go.”
Fix: think “toward the speaker” versus “away from the speaker.” - Mistake: choosing direction from the subject’s viewpoint.
Fix: choose direction from the speaker’s viewpoint. - Mistake: memorizing 进来 jìnlái and 进去 jìnqù as random pairs.
Fix: split them into path plus viewpoint: 进 jìn in + 来 lái toward me / 去 qù away from me. - Mistake: translating too literally from English.
Fix: picture the movement first, then pick the Chinese direction.
Quick Reference Summary
- 来 lái = toward the speaker
- 去 qù = away from the speaker
- 进 jìn = in
- 出 chū = out
- 上 shàng = up
- 下 xià = down
- 回 huí = back
- 过 guò = over / across
- Pattern: verb + direction + 来 lái / 去 qù
- Best habit: ask “Is the action coming toward me or going away from me?”
Final Yak Box
If directional complements still feel slippery, do not memorize fifty chunks in a panic. Master the camera angle first: 来 lái toward me, 去 qù away from me. Then add the path word: 进 jìn, 出 chū, 上 shàng, 下 xià, 回 huí, 过 guò. Suddenly 进来 jìnlái and 出去 chūqù stop looking like grammar goblins and start looking useful.
For extra grammar backup, the Chinese Grammar Wiki has a clear overview, and the Chinese Boost grammar guide is handy when you want more examples without drowning in jargon.
