Chinese word

起来

Pronunciation

Pinyinqǐ lái

Meaning

  • verbget up

Example

我今天早上六点就起来了。wǒ jīn tiān zǎo shàng liù diǎn jiù qǐ lái le

I got up at six this morning.

Illustration for 起来 (get up)

More examples

这件事听起来很简单。zhè jiàn shì tīng qǐ lái hěn jiǎn dān

This matter sounds very simple.

Core concept

A movement, state, or impression rises into a new stage or becomes noticeable.

Common phrases

  • 站起来zhàn qǐ lái

    stand up

  • 听起来tīng qǐ lái

    sound

Similar words

起床qǐ chuáng: Getting out of bed as part of the morning routine.
站起来zhàn qǐ lái: Moving from sitting or lying down into a standing position.
开始kāi shǐ: Beginning an action or entering a new state.

Definition in Chinese

常与动词或形容词连用作补语，表示动作或状态在某一点开始或发生变化，相当于“开始……”的意思。cháng yǔ dòng cí huò xíng róng cí lián yòng zuò bú yǔ biǎo shì dòng zuò huò zhuàng tài zài mǒu yì diǎn kāi shǐ huò fā shēng biàn huà xiāng dāng yú kāi shǐ de yì si

Word origin

In 起来 (qǐlái, "get up; start"), 起 (qǐ, "rise") contributes upward movement and 来 (lái, "come") contributes movement toward a reference point, a combination that extends to a new action or state.

Usage tips

  • Its meaning depends strongly on the word before it: with an action it often marks a beginning, with a quality it marks a change, and with a perception verb it describes the resulting impression.

Other meanings

  • stand upverb
  • start toauxiliary verb
  • soundparticle

Opposites

Word lists with this word