# 起来 / 过来 / 出来 / 下来



## Staarkali

Hello all,

I have some examples of use of these verbal suffixes yet, I'd like to have more opinions of native or chinese speaking people who are fluent.

About 起来, 过来, 出来 and 下来, when do we choose one instead of the others?


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## juliet_shao

起来 is used when someone wants you to get up when you are sitting on the floor.
过来 is used when someone wants you to go over to them.
出来 is used when someone wants you to exit a place. e.g. a room
下来 is used when someone wants you to get down from a place. e.g. from the roof


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## c1wang

Staarkali said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I have some examples of use of these verbal suffixes yet, I'd like to have more opinions of native or chinese speaking people who are fluent.
> 
> About 起来, 过来, 出来 and 下来, when do we choose one instead of the others?


 
*起来* se lever : par exemple - (趕緊)站起来; (高興地)跳起来; (懶得)爬起来 - bref, en haut (de bas)

(mai, 一起来: ensemble; 看起来: ressembler )

*过来* venir: par exemple - 你(过)来看看這個; en avant

*出来* dehors: par exemple - 等你出来以後，过来看看這個。; 傻孩子，你要*先*出来，*才能*过来呀！

*下来* descendre: par exemple - 從山上下来；從主席的位子上掉下来，成為平民百姓。

公文批下来了沒有？(retourné); 
接下來(=接下去)，Staarkali 要為我們唱首歌。（et puis）

De plus, j'espère que ce site web puisse t'aider un peu: http://www.chine-nouvelle.com/outils/dictionnaire.html.


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## went

juliet_shao said:


> 起来 is used when someone wants you to get up when you are sitting on the floor.
> <==or when you are sleeping, anyway, you are not standing
> 
> 过来 is used when someone wants you to go over to them.
> 
> 出来 is used when someone wants you to exit a place. e.g. a room
> <==If the speaker are in the same room as you, he cannot use "出来".  "出去(get out of here)" is used instead. "出来" can only be used when the speaker is outside the room while the person he talks to is inside.
> 
> 下来 is used when someone wants you to get down from a place. e.g. from the roof


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## univerio

These are usually used in commands. 
来 = come (towards speaker)
去 = go away (from speaker)

起 = get up
过 = go/walk
出 = exit
下 = get down

and a few extra:
上 = get/climb up (a tree, for example)
进 = enter


So, combining them:
起来 = get up towards speaker = *get up* levez-vous
过来 = go/walk towards speaker = *come (here)* venez (ici)
出来 = exit towards speaker = *get out of there (or come out)* sortez  ici
下来 = get down towards speaker = *get down from there (or get down here)* decendez ici
上来 = get/climb up towards speaker = *get up here* montez ici
进来 = enter towards speaker = *come in (here)* entrez
起去 *doesn't exist* because you cannot get up away from speaker
过去 = go/walk away from speaker = *go there/away* allez-vous en
出去 = exit away from speaker = exit to there = *get out of here* sortez d'ici
下去 = get down away from speaker = *go down there (or get down from here)* decendez d'ici
上去 = get/climb up away from speaker= *go up there* montez là-bas
进去 = enter away from speaker = *go in (there)* entrez


Like previously stated, when some of these are combined with other words, they may mean totally different things... be careful. I did my best in translating them... lol


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## Staarkali

Thanks everybody for the help, in fact I already know the meaning of the various words as verbs. It's not very difficult when knowing the caracters separately.



univerio said:


> Like previously stated, when some of these are combined with other words, they may mean totally different things... be careful. I did my best in translating them... lol


 

Indeed, as asked in my first post, I'm asking about verbal suffixes, and not when taking these words separately. I should have provide examples earlier to avoid this thread from drifting; let's do it now:

回家了，我就看起报来   (这里"起来"的意思是"开始":吃起饭来, 睡起觉来...)

我知道"下去"也可能是"go on"的意思,不过例子我想不出来; "看下报去"
maybe? 

I try to make one with 过去:
她听我说的话,她的脸红过去 (越来越红)



PS: please correct all my mistakes, thanks!


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## univerio

Staarkali said:


> 回*到*家了，我就看起报来   (这里"起来"的意思是"开始":吃起饭来, 睡起觉来...)
> 
> 我知道"下去"也可能是"go on"的意思,不过例子我想不出来*例子*; "看下报去"
> maybe?
> 
> I try to make one with 过去:
> 她听*了*我说的话,她的脸红过去*了*



First, "我就看起报来" doesn't really work... It sounds weird and it's specific to certain regions in China, but I suppose it could work.

一回到家，我就开始看报纸了。 (Once I got home, I started reading the newspaper.)

看起*来 is usually used in the following way:

他看起书来没完没了。 (He doesn't stop reading once he starts reading.)



Could you be more specific in what you are asking? Native Chinese people usually don't learn the technical terms of Chinese grammar, let alone in English. So, what exactly are "verbal suffixes?"


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## univerio

Staarkali said:


> 回*到*家了，我就看起报来   (这里"起来"的意思是"开始":吃起饭来, 睡起觉来...)
> 
> 我知道"下去"也可能是"go on"的意思,不过例子我想不出来*例子*; "看下报去"
> maybe?
> 
> I try to make one with 过去:
> 她听*了*我说的话,她的脸红过去*了*



First, "我就看起报来" doesn't really work... It sounds weird and it's specific to certain regions in China, but I suppose it could work.

一回到家，我就开始看报纸了。 (Once I got home, I started reading the newspaper.)

看起*来 is usually used in the following way:

他看起书来没完没了。 (He doesn't stop reading once he starts reading.)



Could you be more specific in what you are asking? Native Chinese people usually don't learn the technical terms of Chinese grammar, let alone in English. So, what exactly are "verbal suffixes?"


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## Staarkali

A suffix is a 后缀 but Im not sure whether is often used in Chinese. That is, it expresses the part of a word we add after a main root to specify its meaning.

Ex: 下去 as a verb: 他们来了，你下去吧．= to go down
下去 as a suffix verbal: 我们不能再这样等下去了　= keep waiting (go on 的意思）


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## univerio

These so-called "verbal suffixes" are, in my opinion, only prepositions. Therefore, here, 下去 indicates a prolonged action. So, as prepositions,

起来 = up
过来 = here
出来 = out
下来 = down

They are usually the equivalent of direct English translations. I can't think of a special case at the moment. So, if you see one, be sure to let me know


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## winpon

Staarkali said:


> 回家了，我就看起报来 (这里"起来"的意思是"开始":吃起饭来, 睡起觉来...)
> 
> 我知道"下去"也可能是"go on"的意思,不过例子我想不出来; "看下报去"
> maybe?
> 
> I try to make one with 过去:
> 她听我说的话,她的脸红过去 (越来越红)
> 
> 
> 
> PS: please correct all my mistakes, thanks!


1)The samples for“下去”means “go on”
   读下去－－when you encourage your son or someone else to read a history aloud.
   听下去－－when you wanna someone continue listening to you.
2)她听我说的话,她的脸红过去 (越来越红) should be changed into 她听完（了）我说的话,她的脸红起来 (开始红了)，it would be better.
Her face turned red when (after) she heard my words.
   here ，过去 means a change for something(one state has changed to another), a colour change, expression change...
   起来 means a  beginning of one state changes to another.


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## winpon

univerio said:


> First, "我就看起报来" doesn't really work... It sounds weird and it's specific to certain regions in China, but I suppose it could work.
> 
> 一回到家，我就开始看报纸了。 (Once I got home, I started reading the newspaper.)
> 
> 看起*来 is usually used in the following way:
> 
> 他看起书来没完没了。 (He doesn't stop reading once he starts reading.)
> 
> 
> 
> Could you be more specific in what you are asking? Native Chinese people usually don't learn the technical terms of Chinese grammar, let alone in English. So, what exactly are "verbal suffixes?"


 
“我就看起报来” works well when it means I started reading the newspaper. It could be understood by people, because it is Mandarin.


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## linguist786

So here's the scenario:

Yesterday. I had an exam on the first floor of a building. We all wait on the ground floor for instructions. Then a Chinese man comes down the stairs (to give us instructions I guess). I said to him: 我们可以上去吗?. Was this right?
(He did giggle a bit, having seen an Indian-looking man with a beard speaking Chinese! He said 可以)


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## winpon

linguist786 said:


> So here's the scenario:
> 
> Yesterday. I had an exam on the first floor of a building. We all wait on the ground floor for instructions. Then a Chinese man comes down the stairs (to give us instructions I guess). I said to him: 我们可以上去吗?. Was this right?
> (He did giggle a bit, having seen an Indian-looking man with a beard speaking Chinese! He said 可以)


 
What you have said to the man is right. you may also said " （我们）可以上去吗？" or "好了吗？"


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## Staarkali

univerio said:


> 起来 = up
> 过来 = here
> 出来 = out
> 下来 = down


我个人认为不是那么简单,学国语的话,怎么知道“吃起饭来”是“开始吃饭”的意思? （现在知道了）；it would be translated by "start eating", there is no "up" here;

还有其他的意思,比如说：“这个工作我很喜欢，但忙起来可没有时间出去抽烟”(is it correct? I try to use 起来 as “的时候”的意思。

“想起来”还可能是一个不同的用法，意思是不是“记得”？oki, lets have another try, please feel free to correct me again: “她说的话我听了半天才想起来我还不知道怎么称呼她”

好像中国人很喜欢这个“起来”，例子非常多


As a conclusion (please correct me  ),中文要学起来容易，学起来难，慢慢学吧


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## univerio

Staarkali said:


> 我个人认为不是那么简单,学国语的话,怎么知道“吃起饭来”是“开始吃饭”的意思? （现在知道了）；it would be translated by "start eating", there is no "up" here;
> 
> 还有其他的意思,比如说：“这个工作我很喜欢，但忙起来可没有时间出去抽烟”(is it correct? I try to use 起来 as “的时候”的意思。
> 
> “想起来”还可能是一个不同的用法，意思是不是“记得”？oki, lets have another try, please feel free to correct me again: “她说的话我听了半天才想起来我还不知道怎么称呼她”
> 
> 好像中国人很喜欢这个“起来”，例子非常多
> 
> 
> As a conclusion (please correct me  ),中文要学起来容易，学起来难，慢慢学吧



You're right. Then I guess one will just have to memorize them all. It's just like the English idiomatic usage of prepositions with verbs. For example, "keep up" means not the opposite, but something completely different from "keep down."

As a conclusion = 总的来说


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## LikeBarleyBending

中文要学起来容易，学起来难，慢慢学吧 is a little confusing, you might want to say:

中文要学起来容易，要学会难，慢慢学吧


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