Writing
起来 (qǐlái) — how to say "to get up" in Chinese
起来
To get up
verb
Character composition
起
to rise
来
to come
Radicals / Keys
木
Tree
#75 · mù · 4 strokes
走
Run
#156 · zǒu · 7 strokes
Collocations
站起来
zhàn qǐlái
stand up
Examples
快起来吧，时间不早了，我们得马上出发。
Get up quickly, it's getting late, we need to leave immediately.
快起来！
Get up quickly!
Mnemonic
[qǐlai-] "Charlie the Chipmunk" decides to get up early and help make the rising 起 pie crust! 🥧 As he comes 来 into the kitchen, the sun is just starting to peek. Spotting the character 起来, Charlie grabs the rolling pin and says, "Time to rise and shine!"
Frequently asked questions
How to say get up in Chinese?
"to get up" in Chinese is 起来 (qǐlái).
起来 meaning English
起来 (qǐlái) means "To get up".
How is 起来 pronounced?
It is pronounced qǐlái (written as qilai). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How to write get up in Chinese?
It is written 起来: 起 has 10 strokes, 来 has 7 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 起来?
起来 belongs to the HSK 3 vocabulary list.
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Grammar with 起来
看起来 — looks, seems
Subj. + 看起来 (kànqǐlái) + Adj.
跟 — compared with
跟 (gēn) + Noun 1 + 比 (bǐ) (起来 (qǐlái))，Noun 2⋯⋯
起来 — starting an action
Verb / Adj. + 起来 (qǐlái)
倒 — but actually, contrary to expectation
倒 (dào)⋯⋯
看起来 vs 看来 — seem, look like
看起来 (kànqǐlái) + Adj. (visual impression) / 看来 (kànlái) + Clause (inference)
显得 vs 看起来 — looks vs seems
Subj. + 显得 (xiǎnde) + Adj. (shows quality) / Subj. + 看起来 (kànqǐlái) + Adj. (looks)