Verb Followed by 住
住 can be used to express a "coming to a halt".
Examples
- 站住!你 不 能 走 ! Stop! You can't go!
- 抓住 那个 小偷 ! Catch that thief!
- 不 好意思,你 挡住 了 我 的 路 。 Excuse me. You're standing in my way.
- 前面 两 辆 大卡车 堵住 了 整 条 路 。 The two trucks ahead are blocking the entire road.
住 can be used to express "undertaking an action firmly" or "tightly".
- 大家 都 记 住 了 吗 ? Has everyone kept that in mind yet?
- 你 必须 抓住 机会 。 You must seize the opportunity tightly.
- 看住 你 的 小狗,别 让 它 乱 跑。 Keep an eye on your dog. Don't let him just run around.
Verb Followed by 开
开 (kāi) means "to open," but when used as a complement can mean different things with different verbs.
Examples
开 can be used literally to mean "open up" or "turn on":
- 张开 嘴 。 Open your mouth.
- 请 打开 课本 。 Please open your textbook.
- 他 早上 一 睁开 眼 就 打开 手机 玩 游戏 。 He turned on his cell phone to play games as soon as he opened his eyes this morning.
开 can be used to express an action that is occurring in a direction away from the speaker. When used in this sense, 开 is generally used with verbs involving releasing, unfolding or spreading out:
- 走开 ! Go away!
- 放开 我! Let go of me!
- 这个 新闻 很快 就 传开 了 。 This news spread out very soon.
开 can be also used to express solving a problem or getting a weight off one's mind.
- 看开 一点,生活 还是 要 继续 的 。 You should look on the bright side. Life still goes on.
- 这 件 事 他 一直 想不开 。 He hasn't been able to get this off his mind.
- 我们 把 问题 都 说开 了。 We talked about all the problems openly.
Verb Followed by 出来
出(来) can be used figuratively to mean "nothing to coming into being" or "to come up with".
Examples
- 你 能 想 出 什么 好 办法 ? What good ideas can you come up with?
- 别 猜 了,你们 肯定 猜 不 出 我 的 新 男朋友 是 谁 。 Stop guessing. There's no way for you to figure out who my new boy friend is.
- 这些 数学 题 有点 难 ,我 花 了 一个 小时 才 做 出来 。 These math problems are a little bit difficult. It took me an hour to work them out.
- 一万 字 的 文章 我 写 不 出来 。 I can't write a ten-thousand-word article.
跟感官动词搭配时,"出(来)"表示 "to tell or to distinguish".
- 她 肯定 是 北方人,我 能 听 出来 。 She must be from the north. I can hear it.
- 你 能 看 出来 我 多大 吗 ? Can you tell how old I am?
- 菜 里面 有 味精 ,我 能 吃 出来 。 Can you tell how old I am?
- 这 个 东西 是 用 什么 做 的 ?你 能 摸 出来 吗 ? What's this thing made of? Can you feel it?
- 你 抽烟 了 吧 ?别 骗 我 ,我 都 闻 出来 了 。 Were you smoking? Don't lie to me because I can smell it.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 135)