HSK 3 grammar · complement
趋向补语
趋向补语 — directional complements
Pattern
+ +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
A directional complement after a verb shows which way the action moves relative to the speaker, or an aspectual sense: 起来 (starting up / realizing), 下去 (continuing), 出来 (emerging / figuring out). Many keep both a literal-direction and an extended figurative meaning.
Examples
他站起来了。
Tā zhàn qǐlái le.
He stood up.
请你说下去。
Qǐng nǐ shuō xiàqù.
Please keep on talking.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 趋向补语 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.