Chinese grammar: Direction complement

A direction complement is a verbal complement that's used, you guessed it, to describe the direction of a verb. Also known as: 趋向补语 (qūxiàng bǔyǔ), directional complement and complement of direction.

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

Direction complement examples

	Direction	Verb	Complement	Explanation
Position of speaker	←	下	下来	The movement is down towards the speaker: "come down"
	→	下	下去	The movement is down away from the speaker: "go down"
	←	上	上来	The movement is up towards the speaker: "come up"
	→	上	上去	The movement is up and away from the speaker: "go up"
	←	出	出来	The movement is out and towards the speaker: "come out"
	→	出	出去	The movement is out and away from the speaker: "go out"
	←	进	进来	The movement is in and towards the speaker: "come in"
	→	进	进去	The movement is in and away from the speaker: "go in"

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".

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

Wǒ zài lóu shànɡ , qǐnɡ nǐ shí fēn zhōnɡ yǐ hòu shànɡ lái .
我 在 楼上，请 你十分钟以后上来。

I'm on the upper floor. Please come up in ten minutes.

With other verbs
来 and 去 can form direction compounds with many other verbs. Some more examples:

Nǐ shén me shí hou huí lái?
你 什么时候 回来 ？

When are you coming back?

Adding a place with 到
Direction complements are very useful for talking about arriving at destinations. The structure for this is:
到+place+来 or 去

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

Wǒ mèi mei dào shànɡ hǎi lái le.
我 妹妹 到 上海 来 了。

My sister arrived in Shanghai.

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

Compound direction complements

	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	-

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. Some examples:

Compound direction complement examples

Subject	Verb	Direction complement
你	坐	下来	。
他	走	进来	。
她	坐飞机	回来	。
我们	走	出来	。
你	跑步	过来	。
你们	站	起来	。
咱们	走	下去	。

Direction complements and 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.
subject+verb+direction complement+object

This is the structure for the basic form of a sentence with a direction complement and an object. Verbs that commonly appear in this construction include 拿, 送, and 带. Some examples:

Wǒ dài lái le yī xiē shuí ɡuǒ.
我 带 来 了 一 些 水果。

I brought some fruits.

 

Direction complements and 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. The structure is:
subject+把+object+verb+direction complement

The above examples can be re-arranged into 把 sentences:

Wǒ bǎ yī xiē shuí ɡuǒ dài lái le.
我 把 一 些 水果 带 来 了。

Negating direction complements

 

Direction complements are negated in the same way as other complements. Treat the verb and direction complement as a compound verb, and negate it with 不 or 没有:

subject+不 or 没有+verb+direction complement

Some examples:

wǒ bú huì huí qù 。
我 不会 回 去。

I cannot go back.

 

Direction complements in questions

You can form questions with sentences containing result complements just as you would with any other sentence:
With a question particle
With a question word
With positive-negative inversion

Some examples:

Nǐ dào shànɡ hǎi lái le mɑ ?
你 到 上海 来 了 吗？

Have you arrived at Shanghai?

 

Direction complements with aspect particles

The aspect particles 了 and 过 can be used with direction complements. These are placed after the direction complement. 着 can not be used with direction complements

Some examples:

wǒ huí lái le 。
我 回来 了。

I came back.