Skip to content
Chinese Copilot

起来qǐ láito stand up; to get up

As a complement: qǐlai · Often neutral after a verb.

HSK 2word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

起来 (qǐ lái) means "to stand up" or "to get up." After a verb it also works as a direction complement: upward motion, the start of an action or state, or a first impression after you sense something, as in 看起来 ("it looks…").

What does 起来 mean?

  1. 1.

    to stand up; to get upverb

  2. 2.

    (after a verb) beginning and continuation of an action or state; upward movementverb

  3. 3.

    (after a perception verb) preliminary judgmentverb

What do the characters in 起来 mean?

  • 起to rise; to get up
  • 来hither; toward the speaker (directional)

How do you use 起来?

Grammar patterns

  1. 1

    Verb + 起来

    Attach 起来 after a verb for upward motion, like "stand up" or "pick up."

  2. 2

    Verb / Adj. + 起来 + 了

    Mark that an action or state has started and is going on.

  3. 3

    Subj. + Verb + 起来 + Adv. + Adj.

    After a perception verb such as 看 or 听, give a first impression ("looks / sounds …").

Use bare 起来 for getting up; after another verb, read it as a complement for motion up, starting, or a quick judgment.

Patterns

  • 起来了

    他起来了。

    Tā qǐ lái le.

    He got up.

  • 看起来 + Adj.

    看起来很好。

    Kàn qǐ lái hěn hǎo.

    It looks very good.

  • Adj. + 起来了

    天气热起来了。

    Tiānqì rè qǐ lái le.

    It's getting hot.

What are some examples of 起来 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    他起来了。

    Tā qǐlái le.

    He got up / stood up.

  2. HSK 1

    请你起来。

    Qǐng nǐ qǐlái.

    Please get up / stand up.

  3. HSK 1

    看起来很好。

    Kàn qǐlái hěn hǎo.

    It looks very good.

  4. HSK 1

    天气热起来了。

    Tiānqì rè qǐlái le.

    It's getting hot.

How is 起来 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你起来了吗？

    Nǐ qǐlái le ma?

    Have you gotten up?

  2. Speaker B:

    起来了。

    Qǐlái le.

    Yes, I got up.

  3. Speaker A:

    这个看起来好吗？

    Zhège kàn qǐlái hǎo ma?

    Does this look good?

  4. Speaker B:

    看起来很好。

    Kàn qǐlái hěn hǎo.

    It looks very good.

  5. Speaker A:

    天气热起来了。

    Tiānqì rè qǐlái le.

    It's getting hot.

  6. Speaker B:

    对，热起来了。

    Duì, rè qǐlái le.

    Yes, it has started getting hot.

Can you use 起来 correctly?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank: 他___了。 (He got up.)
  2. 2.Which means "It looks very good"?
  3. 3.Fill in the blank: 天气热___了。

What should you learn next?

Related words

Browse every entry in the Chinese word dictionary.

English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.