VerbsHSK 3
Directional verbs 来 and 去
来 (come) indicates movement towards the speaker, while 去 (go) indicates movement away from the speaker. Both verbs are placed directly before a place noun to specify the destination. Be careful to use 来 when the destination is the speaker's current location, and 去 for locations away from both speaker and listener.
Structure
来 + Place
去 + Place
Examples
- 妈妈要去超市。Māma yào qù chāoshì.Mom will go to the supermarket.
- 老板今天来公司吗？Lǎobǎn jīntiān lái gōngsī ma?Is the boss coming into the office today?
- 你现在来南京路吧。Nǐ xiànzài lái Nánjīng Lù ba.Come to Nanjing Road now.
- 周末我喜欢去朋友家。Zhōumò wǒ xǐhuan qù péngyou jiā.I like to go to my friends' places on the weekends.
- 我今天不上班，你们可以来我家吃饭。Wǒ jīntiān bù shàngbān, nǐmen kěyǐ lái wǒ jiā chīfàn.I don't have to go to work today. You can come to my home to eat dinner.
Words that use this
- 来láito come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回来); ever since (as in 自古以来); for the past (amount of time); (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 来世); (between two verbs) in order to; (after a round number) approximately; (used after 得 to indicate possibility, as in 谈得来, or after 不 to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不来)
- 去qùto go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part); (when used either before or after a verb) to go in order to do sth; (after a verb of motion indicates movement away from the speaker); (used after certain verbs to indicate detachment or separation)