Question 1

Why does 他回来了 sound fine but 他回来中国 sounds broken, and where does the place go?

Accepted Answer

The place goes in the middle: 回中国来, never 回来中国. 来 and 去 are direction tags that snap tight onto the verb, like 回来 or 进去. The moment you name a place, that tag gets shoved to the back and the place slides in between. So the verb and the tag split, and the place lives in the gap. English glues the place straight after the verb, which is exactly why 回来中国 feels right but lands wrong. This is the same 'split the verb' logic you already met with separable verbs like 见面.

Question 2

When someone is heading toward me, why is 回来 right but 回去 wrong?

Accepted Answer

来 points at me, 去 points away from me. The speaker is the anchor. Think of 来 and 去 as two arrows. 来 always points toward the speaker, 去 always points away. You're in Beijing and your buddy flies in and comes to you, that's 回来, coming back toward you. If you were the one leaving Beijing, you'd say 回去. Same rule powers 出来 vs 出去 and 过来 vs 过去. This speaker-anchored logic is the same one behind 来 and 去 as main verbs.

Question 3

If I say 他起来了, does that mean he stood up?

Accepted Answer

起来 alone means he got out of bed, not stood up. 起来 is a direction ending that means up, so it usually needs an action verb sitting in front of it. 站起来 is stand up, 坐起来 is sit up, 爬起来 is scramble to your feet. If you drop the action verb, 起来了 drifts to the one thing it can mean alone: getting out of bed. Same pattern as result complements where the verb carries the action and the ending carries the direction.

Situation / Pattern	Formula	Natural	Avoid
Returning, no place named	回 + 来/去	他回来了。	他回来中国了。
Returning to a specific place	回 + place + 来/去	他回中国来了。	他回来中国了。
Going into a room	进 + place + 来/去	他进屋里来了。	他进来屋里了。
Climbing up a mountain	上 + place + 来/去	我们上山去。	我们上去山。

Situation / Pattern	Formula	Natural	Avoid
Friend returns to where you are	回 + 来	他今天从上海回来。	他今天从上海回去。
You are the one leaving	回 + 去	我该回去了。	我该回来了。
Calling someone out to you	出 + 来	你出来一下。	你出去一下。
Heading out of the house	出 + 去	我们出去吃饭。	我们出来吃饭。

Situation / Pattern	Formula	Natural	Avoid
Getting out of bed	起来 (alone)	他七点就起来了。	他七点就站起来。
Standing up from a chair	站 + 起来	他站起来了。	他起来了 (reads as got out of bed).
Sitting up from lying down	坐 + 起来	他从床上坐起来。	他从床上起来了。

复合趋向补语的趋向意义用法：动词+出来/出去/过来/过去/回来/回去/进来/进去/起来/上来/上去/下来/下去

Why does 他回来了 sound fine but 他回来中国 sounds broken, and where does the place go?

When someone is heading toward me, why is 回来 right but 回去 wrong?

If I say 他起来了, does that mean he stood up?

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