HSK · Level 20
135 words
Chinese word
下来
Pronunciation
Pinyinxià lái
Meaning
- verbcome down
Example
他从树上下来了。tā cóng shù shàng xià lái le
He came down from the tree.
More examples
火车到站，乘客一个个从车上下来了。huǒ chē dào zhàn chéng kè yí gè gè cóng chē shàng xià lái le
The train arrived at the station, and the passengers got off one by one.
Core concept
A downward path finishes by arriving below the point used as the frame of reference.
Common phrases
从车上下来cóng chē shàng xià lái
come down from the vehicle
从楼上下来cóng lóu shàng xià lái
come down from upstairs
走下来zǒu xià lái
walk down
Similar words
下去xià qù: Going downward and continuing toward a lower position away from the reference point.
掉下来diào xià lái: Dropping from a high place or from the hand to a lower position.
Definition in Chinese
作为动词或方向补语，表示动作的结果是向下并朝说话者或参照点到达下方位置。zuò wéi dòng cí huò fāng xiàng bú yǔ biǎo shì dòng zuò de jié guǒ shì xiàng xià bìng cháo shuō huà zhě huò cān zhào diǎn dào dá xià fāng wèi zhì
Word origin
The form 下来 (xiàlái, "come down") joins the direction 下 (xià, "down") with the approach direction 来 (lái, "come"), giving descent an arrival point.
Usage tips
- Chinese directional complements track the speaker's or another reference point's viewpoint, so the same physical descent can be framed differently depending on where the destination is located.
Other meanings
- get downverb
Opposites
- 上来shàng láicome upverb