起来 beyond “up”: starting, and how things seem
After a verb or adjective, 起来 can mean that something starts and carries on (笑起来, 暖和起来), or introduce an impression (看起来很旧). An object goes between 起 and 来.
结构
动词／形容词 + 起来（开始并继续） ｜ 看／听／用／说 + 起来 + 评价 ｜ 动词 + 起 + 宾语 + 来
讲解
本文中的中文词语都可以激活，查看词典释义。
Literally, is a directional complement meaning “up”: “stand up”. At HSK 4 the paper tests two extended meanings that have nothing to do with direction.
The first is starting. Verb or adjective + says that an action or state begins and continues: ， “When they heard the news, everyone burst out laughing.” “The weather is gradually warming up.” With adjectives, marks a change towards more of the quality, so it combines naturally with positive developments: , , . If the verb has an object, the object goes between and : “They started singing.”
The second is impression. , , , , introduce how something seems when you look at it, hear it, use it, and so on: ， “This phone looks old, but it works well enough.” The subject is the thing being judged, never the person judging.
A third, smaller use is memory: “recall”. ， “Now I remember — his surname is Wang.” is “can’t remember”.
In every use, comes after the verb or adjective. It cannot move in front of it.
正确
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
听到这个消息，大家都笑了起来。聽到這個消息，大家都笑了起來。
Tīngdào (first tone, high and level) zhège (fourth tone, falling) xiāoxi, (first tone, high and level) dàjiā (fourth tone, falling) dōu (first tone, high and level) xiàole (fourth tone, falling) qǐlai. (third tone, dipping)···
When they heard the news, everyone burst out laughing.
天气慢慢暖和起来了。天氣慢慢暖和起來了。
Tiānqì (first tone, high and level) mànmàn (fourth tone, falling) nuǎnhuo (third tone, dipping) qǐlai (third tone, dipping) le. (neutral tone)···
The weather is gradually warming up.
这个手机看起来很旧，用起来还不错。這個手機看起來很舊，用起來還不錯。
Zhège (fourth tone, falling) shǒujī (third tone, dipping) kàn (fourth tone, falling) qǐlai (third tone, dipping) hěn (third tone, dipping) jiù, (fourth tone, falling) yòng (fourth tone, falling) qǐlai (third tone, dipping) hái (second tone, rising) búcuò. (second tone, rising)···
This phone looks old, but it works well enough.
错误 — 常见错误
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 他们唱起来歌了。
正确
Correct sentence: 他们唱起歌来了。
为什么: An object splits the complement: it goes between 起 and 来.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 我看起来这个手机很旧。
正确
Correct sentence: 这个手机看起来很旧。
为什么: With 看起来 the subject is the thing being judged. To give your own view, say 我看这个手机很旧 or 我觉得这个手机很旧.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 天气慢慢起来暖和了。
正确
Correct sentence: 天气慢慢暖和起来了。
为什么: 起来 is a complement and follows the adjective or verb it attaches to.
对比
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
In 站起来 and 拿起来, 起来 still means physical movement upwards, and the basic rules of directional complements apply. In 笑起来, 暖和起来 and 看起来 nothing moves: the complement has become a way of marking a beginning or an impression. The word-order rule carries over unchanged, though — an object or a place word still goes between the two halves: 拿起书来, 唱起歌来.
Directional complements with 来 and 去 →小测验
第 1 题 / 3总分: 0
Choose the words that complete 这件衣服___很便宜，其实很贵。