Skip to content

下来

xià lai
HSK 3.0 Level 2 Verb Very common

Definitions

  1. 1. to come down
  2. 2. (completed action marker)
  3. 3. (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.)
  4. 4. (indicates continuation from the past towards us)
  5. 5. to be harvested (of crops)
  6. 6. to be over (of a period of time)
  7. 7. to go among the masses (said of leaders)

Stop forgetting what you study. Build recall daily.

Try HanyuGuide's Chinese review system with multiple choice, typed recall, tone-aware practice, and reviews scheduled before memory fades.

Start Free Trial · $49.99 / year

Sign up with Google
Continue with Email
Try a practice session

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item
上去
shàng qù

to go up

下去 and 下来 contrast in direction towards or away from speaker

Related words

2 items
下去
xià qù

to go down

similar complement usage but with different direction (down away from speaker)
起来
qi lai

(after a verb) indicating the beginning and continuation of an action or a state

both can be used as complements indicating continuation of an action

Usage notes

Collocations

When used as a complement after a verb, 下来 can indicate the continuation or completion of an action, e.g., 安静下来 (to calm down), 停下来 (to stop).

Common mistakes

下来 (xià lai) indicates movement toward the speaker, while 下去 (xià qu) indicates movement away from the speaker.

Example Sentences

5 shown
请把眼镜摘 下来 。
Please take off your glasses.
多年学习积淀 下来 的知识很有用。
The knowledge accumulated over many years of study is very useful.
树叶从树上飘 下来 。
The leaves floated down from the tree.
请把会议内容录 下来 。
Please record the meeting content.
她的泪慢慢流 下来 。
Her tears slowly streamed down.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 下来

接下来
jiē xià lái

to accept

停下来
tíng xià lái

to stop

Child Words of 下来

下
xià

down

来
lái

to come