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."
Expressing an upward
movement
Structure
起来 can be used to express an upward movement like "up," as in
the English examples of "stand up" or "pick up."
Examples
- 请 大家 站 起来 。Qǐng dàjiā zhàn
qǐlái.Everyone, please stand
up.
- 快 把 地上 的 书 捡 起来。Kuài bǎ dìshàng
de shū jiǎn qǐlái.Quickly pick
up the books on the floor.
- 你 怎么 不 把 老人 扶 起来 ？ Nǐ zěnme bù bǎ
lǎorén fú qǐlái? Why didn't you
keep the old man upright?
- 别 动 ！ 把 手 举 起来 。 Bié dòng! Bǎ
shǒu jǔ qǐlái.Don't move! Put
your hands up.
Expressing initiation
of an action
Structure
起来 can also be used to show that an action or state has started
and is ongoing:
Examples
- 大家 笑 起来 了 。 Dàjiā xiào
qǐlái le.Everyone started
laughing.
- 宝宝 哭 起来 了 。 Bǎobǎo kū
qǐlái le.The baby started
crying.
- 两 个 大妈 吵 起来 了 。 Liǎng gè dàmā
chǎo qǐlái le.Two middle-aged
ladies started arguing.
- 天气 热 起来 了 。 Tiānqì rè
qǐlái le.It's starting to get
hot.
- 他 的 病 好 起来了 。 Tā de bìng hǎo
qǐlái le.His illness is starting to
get better.
When used like this, 起来 is only used with spontaneous actions,
like 唱, 跳, 聊, or with states like 热, 冷, or 好 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.
Expressing 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
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
- 他 看 起来 很 友好。Tā kàn qǐlái
hěn yǒuhǎo.He looks very
friendly.
- 这 件 事情 听 起来 有点 复杂。Zhè jiàn
shìqing tīng qǐlái yǒudiǎn fùzá.This matter sounds a little bit complex.
- 你 点 的 菜 尝 起来 不错。Nǐ diǎn de cài
cháng qǐlái bùcuò.The dishes
that you ordered taste good .
- 这 件 衣服 摸 起来 很 舒服。Zhè jiàn yīfu
mō qǐlái hěn shūfu.These
clothes feel very comfortable.
See Also
Sources and further
reading
Books
Websites