In short

A directional complement is a short verb of motion glued onto the end of another verb to show which way the action goes. Add 来 (lái, toward the speaker) or 去 (qù, away from the speaker) - and often a path word like 上/下/进/出/回/过/起 (up/down/in/out/back/over/rise) - straight after the verb: 走进来 (zǒu jìnlái, walk in), 拿出去 (ná chūqù, take out). The choice of 来 vs 去 is fixed by where the speaker is standing.

The rule

Nine little verbs can ride on the back of a main verb to point its direction. Two are deictic (chosen by the speaker’s position): 来 (lái) and 去 (qù). Seven are path words: 上 (shàng, up), 下 (xià, down), 进 (jìn, in), 出 (chū, out), 回 (huí, back), 过 (guò, over/across), 起 (qǐ, up off a surface). A simple complement uses one of these; a compound complement stacks a path word plus a deictic.

Step 1 - Simple complement: Verb + one directional word. Attach a single directional verb to the action verb:

Verb + 来/去 or Verb + 上/下/进/出/回/过/起

回来 (huílái, come back), 坐下 (zuò xià, sit down), 拿去 (ná qù, take away), 跑出 (pǎo chū, run out), 站起 (zhàn qǐ, stand up). The deictic pair sets direction relative to you; the path words set it in space.

Step 2 - Compound complement: Verb + path + deictic. Put a path word first, the deictic 来/去 last:

Verb + 上/下/进/出/回/过/起 + 来/去

走进来 (zǒu jìnlái, walk in - toward me), 跑出去 (pǎo chūqù, run out - away), 拿上来 (ná shànglái, bring up here), 站起来 (zhàn qǐlái, stand up). Read it as two steps: which path (in, out, up…) and then toward or away from the speaker. The order never flips - the deictic always comes last.

Step 3 - Pick 来 or 去 by the speaker’s location. This is the whole game. 来 = the motion ends up where the speaker is; 去 = it heads away from the speaker. Standing upstairs you tell someone below 上来 (shànglái, come up); standing downstairs you say 下来 (xiàlái, come down). Same staircase, opposite word.

Step 4 - Place a location object in front of 来/去. A place noun can never sit after the deictic - but where the complement is a bare path word with no 来/去, the place simply follows it: 走进厨房 (zǒu jìn chúfáng, walk into the kitchen), 搬下楼 (bān xià lóu, carry downstairs). Once 来 or 去 is added, the place moves in front of it: for a simple complement it goes between the verb and 来/去; for a compound complement it slots between the path word and 来/去:

Verb (+ path) + Place + 来/去 -> 回家去 (huí jiā qù, go home), 走进屋来 (zǒu jìn wū lái, walk into the room)

Step 5 - A thing object may go either side. A non-place (thing) object can sit before 来/去 or after the whole complement: 拿一本书来 or 拿来一本书 (ná lái yī běn shū, bring a book); 拿出一本书来 or 拿出来一本书 (compound). Note 一 here is pronounced yì before the measure word, though written yī.

Negation and 了. For a motion that did not happen, negate with 没(有), not 不, and drop 了: 他没进来 (tā méi jìnlái, he didn’t come in). Completed motion takes 了 after the whole complement: 他跑出去了 (tā pǎo chūqù le). Here 来/去 as complements are usually said in the neutral tone (jìnlai, chūqu), though their citation tones are lái and qù. This lesson is about literal physical motion only - the figurative senses of 起来/下去/出来 belong to Figurative directional complements, and the potential inserts (拿得出来 / 拿不出来) belong to Potential and extreme-degree complements.

Forms & patterns

The nine directional words:

The compound complements (path + deictic). Note 起 pairs only with 来:

Where the object goes:

Examples

Common mistakes

• 他跑去出了。 -> 他跑出去了。 (Tā pǎo chūqù le.) - In a compound complement the path word (出) comes first and the deictic (去) last; never reverse them.
• 他走进来教室。 -> 他走进教室来。 (Tā zǒu jìn jiàoshì lái.) - A place object must sit in front of 来/去, between the path word and the deictic - never after the whole complement.
• 站起去。 -> 站起来。 (Zhàn qǐlái.) - 起 only pairs with 来 (起来); there is no 起去.
• (you are upstairs, calling someone up) 你上去吧。 -> 你上来吧。 (Nǐ shànglái ba.) - Choose 来 for motion toward where the speaker is; 去 points away, so 上去 would send them further from you.
• 昨天他不回来。 -> 昨天他没回来。 (Zuótiān tā méi huílái.) - A past motion that failed to happen is negated with 没(有), not 不.

Tips

• Build a compound complement in two clicks: first the path (in / out / up / down / back / over), then 来 or 去 to say “toward me” or “away from me.” 出 + 去 = 出去 (out and away); 出 + 来 = 出来 (out and toward me).
• The 来/去 test is “where am I?” Picture yourself in the scene. If the thing ends up next to you, it is 来; if it moves off, it is 去. This is stricter than English “come/go,” which speakers bend freely.
• Location nouns are picky, thing nouns are relaxed: a place must go before 来/去 (回家来, not 回来家), but a thing is happy on either side (带伞去 or 带去伞).
• 起 is the odd one out - it only ever takes 来 (起来, “up off a surface”), so there is no 起去 to worry about.