Level 3 · Intermediate
The 起来 complement
Verb / Adj. + 起来 · Traditional: Verb / Adj. + 起來
起来 after a verb starts out literal — upward: 站起来 "stand up". From there it grows two everyday senses. After a verb or adjective it can mean something is STARTING and picking up: 天气热起来了 "the weather's warming up", 孩子们笑起来了 "the kids burst out laughing".
The third sense is "when you try it": 看起来 "looks (like)", 吃起来 "tastes", 听起来 "sounds" — 这个菜看起来很好吃 "this dish looks delicious". These three are worth memorizing as ready-made chunks. One catch: when the verb has an object, the object splits 起 and 来 — 下起雨来 "it started to rain", not 下雨起来.
Examples
请大家站起来。
請大家站起來。
qǐng dà jiā zhàn qǐ lai
Everyone please stand up.
天气慢慢热起来了。
天氣慢慢熱起來了。
tiān qì màn màn rè qǐ lai le
The weather is slowly warming up.
这个菜看起来很好吃。
這個菜看起來很好吃。
zhè ge cài kàn qǐ lai hěn hǎo chī
This dish looks delicious.
这个面包吃起来有点甜。
這個麵包吃起來有點甜。
zhè ge miàn bāo chī qǐ lai yǒu diǎn tián
This bread tastes a little sweet.
Common mistakes
✗ 天气起来热了。
✓ 天气热起来了。
起来 always attaches AFTER the verb or adjective, never before it.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like Xiao Bai Gets Sick (Part 5), The First Guest (Part 2), The Red Umbrella (Part 11) inside the Literate Chinese app.
