Come & Go in Chinese 来和去
lái hé qù
Come / go in Chinese are 来 / 去 (lái / qù).
Also searched for as: come, go, lai and qu, come back.
Which way is it moving? 15 essential coming & going words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
Chinese adds 来 (lái) or 去 (qù) to a verb to show whether movement is towards or away from the speaker, so 进来 (jìn lái) is 'come in' and 进去 (jìn qù) is 'go in'. This list covers the most common pairs, from 回来 (huí lai) and 回去 (huí qu) to 上来 (shàng lái) and 下去 (xià qù). Once you picture where the speaker is standing, choosing the right one becomes second nature.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 进来 | jìn lái | to come in |
| 进去 | jìn qù | to go in |
| 出来 | chū lái | to come out |
| 出去 | chū qù | to go out |
| 回来 | huí lai | to come back |
| 回去 | huí qu | to go back |
| 上来 | shàng lái | to come up |
| 上去 | shàng qù | to go up |
| 下来 | xià lai | to come down |
| 下去 | xià qù | to go down |
| 过来 | guò lái | to come over |
| 过去 | guò qù | to go over |
| 起来 | qǐ lai | to get up |
| 带来 | dài lái | to bring (here) |
| 拿出来 | ná chū lái | to take out |
Usage tips
- 来 always points towards the speaker and 去 away, so if you're upstairs calling someone up, say 上来 (shàng lái); if you're downstairs sending them up, say 上去 (shàng qù).
- 过来 (guò lái) is the usual way to call someone over: 你过来一下 (nǐ guò lái yī xià), 'come here a sec'.
- 起来 (qǐ lai) also has extended meanings, such as 'start to' in 笑起来 (xiào qǐ lai), 'burst out laughing', and 'seem' in 看起来 (kàn qǐ lai).
Common mistakes
- Mixing up 回来 and 回去 when you're away from home: telling a friend you're heading home is 我要回去了 (wǒ yào huí qu le), while 我回来了 (wǒ huí lai le) is what you say as you walk through your own door.
- Putting a place after 来 or 去, as in 进来教室: the place goes between the verb and 来, so say 进教室来 (jìn jiào shì lái).
Mini dialogue
- A你到了吗？Nǐ dào le ma?Are you here yet?
- B到了，我在楼下。Dào le, wǒ zài lóu xià.Yes, I'm downstairs.
- A电梯坏了，你走上来吧，我在五楼。Diàn tī huài le, nǐ zǒu shàng lái ba, wǒ zài wǔ lóu.The lift's broken, walk up, I'm on the fifth floor.
- B好，我马上上去。Hǎo, wǒ mǎ shàng shàng qù.OK, I'm coming up now.
Example sentences
- 外面冷，快进来吧。It's cold outside, come in quick.
- 我们进去看看。Let's go in and have a look.
- 你出来一下。Come out here for a sec.
- 周末你出去玩吗？Are you going out at the weekend?
- 你几点回来？What time are you coming back?
- 太晚了，我要回去了。It's late, I need to head back.
- 你上来吧，我在三楼。Come up, I'm on the third floor.
- 电梯坏了，我们走上去吧。The lift's broken, let's walk up.
- 快下来吃饭！Come down for dinner!
- 我下去拿快递。I'm going down to get the parcel.
- 你过来看看这个。Come over and look at this.
- 我过去跟他说。I'll go over and tell him.
- 早上七点起来。I get up at seven in the morning.
- 你把照片带来了吗？Did you bring the photos?
- 请把手机拿出来。Please take your phone out.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Coming & going speaking island has 8 everyday questions about coming & going to prepare your own answers to.