A direction complement is a complement that's used, you guessed it, to describe the direction of the action of a verb.

Simple Direction Complement

The most basic (and common) form of direction complement is formed by a verb and 来 or 去:

The most important thing to consider with direction complements is the position of the speaker. If the action moves towards the speaker or comes closer in any way, use 来. If the action moves away from the speaker or becomes more distant in any way, use 去.

You might be wondering how the directional distinction between 来 and 去 works when you're talking about yourself moving. You can't move away from or towards yourself, so should it be 来 or 去? The answer is to look at the context of the movement you're talking about. Are you telling someone you'll see them tomorrow? As in English, in Chinese you'd say something like "I'll come and see you tomorrow."

Examples

You can use these simple compounds in a huge variety of situations. Here are some examples:

Verb	+ Complement	Explanation
下	下来xiàlái	The movement is down towards the speaker: "come down"
下	下去xiàqù	The movement is down away from the speaker: "go down"
上	上来shànglái	The movement is up towards the speaker: "come up"
上	上去shàngqù	The movement is up and away from the speaker: "go up"
出	出来chūlái	The movement is out and towards the speaker: "come out"
出	出去chūqù	The movement is out and away from the speaker: "go out"
进	进来jìnlái	The movement is in and towards the speaker: "come in"
进	进去jìnqù	The movement is in and away from the speaker: "go in"
回	回来huílái	The movement is towards the speaker: "come back"
回	回去huíqù	The movement is away from the speaker: "go back"

我在楼上，请你十分钟以后上来。Wǒ zài lóushàng, qǐng nǐ shí fēnzhōng yǐhòu shànglái.I'm on the upper floor. Please come up in ten minutes.
你在楼上等我一下。我一会儿就上去找你。Nǐ zài lóushàng děng wǒ yīxià. Wǒ yīhuǐ'er jiù shàngqù zhǎo nǐ.Please wait a moment on the upper floor. I'm coming up to you in a few seconds.

在树上玩很危险，你快下来 ! Zài shù shàng wán hěn wéixiǎn, nǐ kuài xiàlái!It's too dangerous to play in the tree! Come down!
楼下有咖啡厅，我们下去聊吧。 Lóuxià yǒu kāfēitīng, wǒmen xiàqù liáo bā.There is a cafe downstairs. Let's go downstair and talk.

出来玩吧，我们在 KTV 等你。Chūlái wán bā, wǒmen zài KTV děng nǐ.Come over and hang out with us. We'll be waiting in the KTV.
外面太热了，不要出去。Wàimiàn tài rè le, bù yào chūqù.It's too hot outside. Don't go outside.

我们在里面开会，大家都进来吧。Wǒmen zài lǐmiàn kāihuì, dàjiā dōu jìnlái ba.We are going to have a meeting inside. Please come in here.
他在办公室里等你，你快进去吧。Tā zài bàngōngshì lǐ děng nǐ, nǐ kuài jìnqù ba.He is waiting for you in his office. You can go in now.

你什么时候回来？Nǐ shénme shíhou huílái?When are you coming back?
他明天一个人回去。Tā míngtiān yīgèrén huíqù.He is going back alone tomorrow.

你过来让我看一下。Nǐ guòlái ràng wǒ kàn yīxià.Come here and let me take a look.
那儿很危险，不要过去。Nàr hěn wēixián, bùdào guòqù.It's dangerous there. Don't go over there.

Adding a place with 到

Direction complements are very useful for talking about arriving at destinations. The structure for this is:

Notice that you separate the verb from its direction complement. The location goes in between the two.

我妹妹到上海来了。Wǒ mèimei dào Shànghǎi lái le.My sister arrived in Shanghai.
你想到我家来吗？Nǐ xiǎng dào wǒ jiā lái ma?Do you want to come to my house?
我就在会议室等他，你让他马上到会议室来。Wǒ jiù zài huìyìshì děng tā, nǐ ràng tā mǎshàng dào huìyìshì lái.I'm waiting for him in the meeting room. Tell him to come here right now.

Compound Direction Complements

Direction complements can be more complex than just 来 or 去. You can form compound direction complements in the following way:

很多学习者习惯说"回来中国"，"回去美国"，都是错的。正确的说法是"回中国来""回美国去"，因为"回"才是动词，"来""去"是补语。口语里如果语境比较明确，经常省略"来""去"，只说"回中国""回美国"。

These compounds can then be used in the same way as 来 and 去. Attach them to verbs to give detail about the direction of the action.

Structure

Examples

	上	下	进	出	回	过	起
来	上来	下来	进来	出来	回来	过来	起来
去	上去	下去	进去	出去	回去	过去

你 坐下来 吧。 Nǐ zuò xiàlái ba.Please sit down.
他们还没 走出来 。 Tāmen hái méi zǒu chūlái.They haven't walked out yet.
你可以 站起来 吗？Nǐ kěyǐ zhàn qǐlái ma?Could you please stand up?
我们想自己 走下去 。 Wǒmen xiǎng zìjǐ zǒu xiàqù.We'd like to walk down from here by ourselves.
不要让它跑出去。Bùyào ràng tā pǎo chūqù.Don't let it run out.
从我家走过来要半个小时。Cóng wǒ jiā zǒu guòlái yào bàn gè xiǎoshí. It took me half an hour to walk here from my place.

Direction Complements with Objects

Direction complements are not only used to describe the movement of people. Moving objects can also be described with direction complements. Again, the direction of the movement relative to the speaker (or at least to the context of the conversation) is what's most important when deciding what complement to use.

可以带 一些朋友 来吗？Kěyǐ dài le yīxiē péngyou lái ma?Can I bring some friends?
你快点送孩子去吧，别迟到了。Nǐ kuàidiǎn sòng háizi qù ba, bié chídào le.Hurry up, take the child there. Don't be late.
师傅，再送 两桶水 来。Shīfu, zài sòng liǎng tǒng shuǐ lái.Shifu, please deliver two more buckets of water.
他们从老家带了 一些特产 回来。Tāmen cóng lǎojiā dài le yīxiē tèchǎn huílái.They brought some local goods back from hometown.
这儿的冬天太冷了，我需要你带 一些厚衣服 过来。Zhèr de dōngtiān tài lěng le, wǒ xūyào nǐ dài yīxiē hòu yīfu guòlái.It's too cold here in winter. I need you to bring me some thick clothes.
你要不要拿 一点吃的 过去？Nǐ yào bù yào ná yīdiǎn chīde guòqù?Would you like to take some food there?
你们可以帮我拿 一些书 进去吗？Nǐmen kěyǐ bāng wǒ ná yīxiē shū jìnqù ma?Could you please help me take some books inside?

Direction Complements with 把

Direction complements work very well in 把 sentences, as they can be used to describe the disposal of an object (what happened to it in the end). Because of this, it's very common to see direction complements and 把 appearing together.

Structure

Examples

把书拿出来。Bǎ shū ná chūlái.Please take out your book.
把外套脱下来吧。Bǎ wàitào tuō xiàlái ba.Take off your coat.
你把他们的礼物带过去了吗？Nǐ bǎ tāmen de lǐwù dài guòqù le ma?Did you take their presents there?
快递还没把我的东西送来。Kuàidì háiméi bǎ wǒ de dōngxi sòng lái.The delivery man hasn't delivered my things yet.
帮我把这个箱子搬过去。Bāng wǒ bǎ zhège xiāngzi bān guòqù.Please help me to move this suitcase over there.

Compared with Potential Complement

Direction and Potential Complements
Directional Complement	Aff. Potential Complement	Neg. Potential Complement
起来	起得来	起不来
回去	回得去	回不去
站起来	站得起来	站不起来
爬上来	爬得上来	爬不上来
开进来	开得进了	开不进来
拿出来	拿得出来	拿不出来

Additional Meanings

A lot of direction complements, particularly compound direction complements, have additional idiomatic meanings beyond literally describing the direction of an action. The most common of these are:

Simple Direction Complement

Examples

Adding a place with 到

Compound Direction Complements

Structure

Examples

Direction Complements with Objects

Direction Complements with 把

Structure

Examples

Compared with Potential Complement

Additional Meanings

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites

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