Directional Complements in Chinese

Overview

Directional complements (趋向补语, qūxiàng bǔyǔ) are attached to verbs to indicate the direction of movement. The two basic ones are 来 (lái, toward the speaker) and 去 (qù, away from the speaker). Beyond these, directional words like 上 (up), 下 (down), 进 (in), 出 (out), 回 (back), and 过 (across) combine with verbs and with 来/去 to create precise movement descriptions.

At the CEFR A2 level, learning simple directional complements allows you to describe and understand movement: 进来 (come in), 出去 (go out), 回来 (come back). These are extremely common in daily commands and descriptions.

The system is logical: the directional word indicates the path, and 来/去 indicates whether the movement is toward or away from the speaker. This creates pairs like 进来 (come in, toward speaker) vs. 进去 (go in, away from speaker).

How It Works

Simple directional complements

Direction	+ 来 (toward speaker)	+ 去 (away from speaker)
上 (up)	上来 (come up)	上去 (go up)
下 (down)	下来 (come down)	下去 (go down)
进 (in)	进来 (come in)	进去 (go in)
出 (out)	出来 (come out)	出去 (go out)
回 (back)	回来 (come back)	回去 (go back)
过 (across)	过来 (come over)	过去 (go over)

Combined with verbs

Pattern	Example	Meaning
Verb + 来/去	走过来	walk over (toward me)
Verb + direction + 来/去	走进来	walk in (toward me)

Object placement

With place object	With thing object
走进教室来 (walk into classroom toward me)	拿出来 (take out, toward me)

Examples in Context

Chinese	Pinyin	English	Note
请进来！	Qǐng jìnlái!	Please come in!	invitation
他走出去了。	Tā zǒu chūqù le.	He walked out.	away from speaker
拿上来。	Ná shànglái.	Bring it up.	toward speaker
我要回去了。	Wǒ yào huíqù le.	I'm going back.	away from speaker
你过来一下。	Nǐ guòlái yíxià.	Come over here a moment.	toward speaker
她跑出来了。	Tā pǎo chūlái le.	She ran out.	toward speaker
把书拿下来。	Bǎ shū ná xiàlái.	Take the book down.	toward speaker
我们上去吧。	Wǒmen shàngqù ba.	Let's go up.	away/upward
他回来了。	Tā huílái le.	He came back.	toward speaker
快下来！	Kuài xiàlái!	Come down quickly!	command

Common Mistakes

Confusing 来 and 去 direction

• Wrong: 请进去 when inviting someone into your space
• Right: 请进来 (Please come in -- toward speaker)
• Why: 来 means toward the speaker; 去 means away. If you are inside inviting someone in, use 来.

Misplacing objects

• Wrong: 拿来书 (bring book come)
• Right: 把书拿来 or 拿书来
• Why: Object placement with directional complements follows specific patterns that depend on the type of object.

Using directional complements with wrong verbs

• Wrong: 吃出去 (eat go out)
• Right: Directional complements combine with movement-related verbs: 走, 跑, 拿, 搬, 送
• Why: The verb must be semantically compatible with directional movement.

Practice Tips

• Practice the 来/去 pairs as a set: 进来/进去, 出来/出去, 上来/上去, 下来/下去. Always know which direction you are indicating relative to the speaker.
• Use directional complements in daily commands and requests: 过来 (come here), 出去 (go out), 回来 (come back).
• When describing movement, always think from the speaker's perspective: is the movement toward me (来) or away from me (去)?

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Common Verbs -- know movement verbs before adding direction
• Next steps: Complex Directional Complements -- three-part directional structures and figurative uses