Direction complement 来 / 去 (toward / away)
Coming in or going out?
- Every movement has a direction relative to you.
- to come来 = toward me; to go去 = away from me.
- Tack it onto a verb: to come in进来 (come in), to go out出去 (go out).
Verb (+ Direction) + to come来 / to go去
- to come来 = movement toward the speaker; to go去 = away from the speaker.
please请come in进来！
- to come in进来 = come in (toward me); to go out出去 = go out (away from me).
Practice
You want someone to come toward you. Which do you say?
来 = toward the speaker (进来); 去 = away (出去).
Practice
Invite someone in: 请 ____！(come in)
进 (enter) + 来 (toward me) = 进来 (come in).
Practice
去 marks movement toward the speaker.
去 = AWAY from the speaker; 来 = toward.
It works with carrying verbs too
- to bring拿来 (bring here), band带to go去 (take there), to return回来 (come back), to go up上去 (go up).
(把)把book书bring here拿来。
- to bring拿来 = "bring (it) here"; swap to to hold拿to go去 for "take (it) away".
Explore
Correct or broken?
来 pulls the motion toward the speaker, 去 pushes it away — pick one and glue it after the verb.
Practice
Match each compound to its meaning.
来 = toward (进来, 回来); 去 = away (出去).
Recap
Key idea
- to come来 = toward the speaker · to go去 = away from the speaker
- Attach to a verb: to come in进来 / to go out出去, to come up上来 / to go down下去, to bring拿来 / band带to go去
- Choose to come来 / to go去 by where you stand
Read the full reference: HSK 3 grammar — Complements.