起来 qǐlai in a sentence
Gets up (beginning or continuing an action)
起来 (qǐlai) means Gets up (beginning or continuing an action). Below are 24 of the 70 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
他站 起来 回答问题。
Tā zhàn qǐlai huídá wèntí.
He stood up to answer the question.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 起来
早上 起来 要洗脸。
Zǎoshang qǐlai yào xǐ liǎn.
You should wash your face when you get up.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 脸
站 起来 太快会晕。
Zhàn qǐlái tài kuài huì yūn.
Standing up too fast makes you dizzy.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 晕
他突然站 起来 走了。
Tā tūrán zhàn qǐlai zǒu le.
He suddenly stood up and left.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 突然
观众都站 起来 鼓掌。
Guānzhòng dōu zhàn qǐlái gǔzhǎng.
The audience all stood up and applauded.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 观众
这块布摸 起来 很粗糙。
Zhè kuài bù mō qǐlái hěn cūcāo.
This cloth feels rough.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 粗糙
请把地上的纸捡 起来 。
Qǐng bǎ dì shàng de zhǐ jiǎn qǐlái.
Please pick up the paper from the floor.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 捡
两家公司联合 起来 了。
Liǎng jiā gōngsī liánhé qǐlái le.
The two companies have joined forces.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 联合
整个城市都亮了 起来 。
Zhěnggè chéngshì dōu liàng le qǐlái.
The whole city lit up.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 整个
孩子高兴得蹦了 起来 。
Háizi gāoxìng de bèng le qǐlái.
The child jumped up with delight.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 蹦
那只狗看 起来 很凶恶。
Nà zhī gǒu kàn qǐlái hěn xiōng'è.
That dog looks very fierce.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 凶恶
那只小狗看 起来 很可怜。
Nà zhī xiǎo gǒu kàn qǐlái hěn kělián.
That little dog looks pitiful.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 可怜
Reading these is one thing; producing 起来 yourself is another. Cloze in Context takes a sentence from this same bank, removes one word and asks you to put it back — beginner, intermediate and advanced.
From the graded readers
照片上的大衣是蓝色的，看 起来 很暖和。
zhàopiàn shàng de / dì dà yī / yì shì lánsè de / dì, kànqǐlái hěn nuǎnhuo.
The coat in the photo was blue and looked warm.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Shopping Online
他们笑得很开心，看 起来 大概二十岁左右。
tāmen xiào dehěn kāixīn, kànqǐlái dàgài èrshí suì zuǒyòu.
They were laughing happily and looked about twenty.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · An Old Photograph
妈妈把手机举 起来 ，让我看他们那边的月亮。
māma bǎshǒu jī jǔ qǐlai, ràng wǒ kàn / kān tāmen nàbian de / dì yuèliàng.
Mum lifted the phone so I could see the moon from their side.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Mid-Autumn Festival
照片背面写着一个日期和一个名字，可是那个名字她也想不 起来 了。
zhàopiàn bēi miàn xiězhe yīgè rìqī hé yīgè míngzi, kěshì nèigè míngzi tā yě xiǎng bù qǐlai le / liǎo / liào.
On the back was a date and a name, but even she couldn't place the name.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · An Old Photograph
From the travel phrasebook
能帮我包 起来 吗？
Néng bāng wǒ bāo qǐlái ma?
Could you wrap it for me?
Travel phrasebook · Shopping and bargaining
From the grammar library
我想 起来 了！
Wǒ xiǎng qǐlái le!
I've just remembered!
Grammar library · HSK 3 · Directional complements — 上来, 下去, 出来
起来 appears in 70 sentences on this site; the 24 shortest and most direct are shown. The rest are on the pages they were written for — the graded readers, the phrasebook and the grammar library.
Questions about 起来
How is 起来 used in a sentence?
This page shows 70 sentences using 起来 (qǐlai, "Gets up (beginning or continuing an action)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Is 起来 an HSK word?
Yes — 起来 is on the official HSK 3 vocabulary list, and you can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 3 page.
Where can I see the full entry for 起来?
The dictionary page for 起来 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 起来, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, drill it with HSK 3 flashcards, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
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