The compound 下去 (xiàqu) literally means "go down / go away from here into the distance" — 走下去 can be "walk downstairs." But as an aspect marker attached to a verb, 下去 means keep on doing it: the action carries forward from where it already is, on into the future. 说下去 is "go on talking," 坚持下去 is "keep at it," 活下去 is "survive, keep on living." The metaphor is motion continuing away from you and onward — the action doesn't stop at the present, it keeps rolling. Crucially, 下去 presupposes the action is already happening: it continues something underway. That single fact is what separates it from its sibling 起来, which starts an action. A neat pair to hold in mind: 起来 begins, 下去 continues.
The continuative reading: carry on from here
V + 下去 tells the listener to prolong an action that is already in motion — or reports that it kept going. It's the natural way to say "go on," "keep it up," "carry on."
你说得很有道理，请说下去，我在听。
nǐ shuō de hěn yǒu dàolǐ, qǐng shuō xiàqu, wǒ zài tīng
You're making a good point — please go on, I'm listening. (neutral)
再难也要坚持下去，别轻易放弃。
zài nán yě yào jiānchí xiàqu, bié qīngyì fàngqì
However hard it gets, keep at it — don't give up so easily. (neutral)
只要还有一口气，就要活下去。
zhǐyào hái yǒu yì kǒu qì, jiù yào huó xiàqu
As long as there's a breath left, you keep on living. (literary)
The subject-less 这样下去 ("going on like this") is an extremely common fixed phrase for "if things continue this way":
这样下去可不行，我们得赶紧想个办法。
zhèyàng xiàqu kě bù xíng, wǒmen děi gǎnjǐn xiǎng ge bànfǎ
Things can't go on like this — we need to come up with a plan fast. (informal)
The potential form: 下得去 / 下不去 — can you keep going?
Like most directional complements, 下去 takes a potential form by infixing 得 or 不: V + 得 + 下去 ("able to keep going") and V + 不 + 下去 ("unable to keep going / can't bear to continue"). This is where 下去 earns its keep in daily speech — it expresses whether continuing is possible or bearable.
我太累了，真的学不下去了，明天再说吧。
wǒ tài lèi le, zhēnde xué bu xiàqu le, míngtiān zài shuō ba
I'm exhausted — I honestly can't keep studying, let's leave it till tomorrow. (informal)
他讲到一半就讲不下去了，太激动了。
tā jiǎng dào yíbàn jiù jiǎng bu xiàqu le, tài jīdòng le
He broke off halfway, too overcome to go on. (neutral)
这本书太无聊了，我实在看不下去。
zhè běn shū tài wúliáo le, wǒ shízài kàn bu xiàqu
This book is so boring I really can't keep reading it. (informal)
只要坚持得下去，总有一天会成功的。
zhǐyào jiānchí de xiàqu, zǒng yǒu yì tiān huì chénggōng de
As long as you can keep it up, one day you'll succeed. (neutral)
Continuative 下去 vs. literal 下去 vs. 下来
Three things share the shape "下 + directional," and learners blur them. Context and meaning keep them apart:
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| V下去 (continuative) | keep on V-ing (into the future) | 说下去 — go on talking |
| V下去 (literal) | move physically downward / away | 走下去 — walk down |
| V下来 (settle / record) | V and fix it in place, note it down | 记下来 — write it down |
| V下来 (literal) | come down toward the speaker | 走下来 — walk down (toward me) |
The contrast with 下来 is the sharpest one to feel. 下去 pushes an action onward into the future; 下来 pulls something to a stop, a settled state, a record. You keep talking with 说下去, but you write a sentence down and fix it with 记下来.
电梯坏了，我们只能走下去了。
diàntī huài le, wǒmen zhǐ néng zǒu xiàqu le
The lift's broken — we'll just have to walk down. (informal) — literal downward motion.
老师说的重点，你最好都记下来。
lǎoshī shuō de zhòngdiǎn, nǐ zuìhǎo dōu jì xiàlai
You'd better note down all the key points the teacher mentions. (neutral) — 下来 fixes/records, not 下去.
Common Mistakes
1. Using 下去 for something not yet started. 下去 continues an action; to begin one, use 开始 or 起来.
❌ 明天我们就要写下去这个报告了。
Wrong for 'start writing' — 下去 continues an ongoing action; beginning one needs 开始.
✅ 明天我们就要开始写这个报告了。
míngtiān wǒmen jiùyào kāishǐ xiě zhège bàogào le
We're about to start writing this report tomorrow. — use 开始 to begin.
2. Using 起来 where you mean "continue." 起来 starts; 下去 keeps going.
❌ 你别停，接着说起来。
Wrong for 'go on talking' — that's continuation, so it needs 下去.
✅ 你别停，接着说下去。
nǐ bié tíng, jiēzhe shuō xiàqu
Don't stop — go on talking. — 下去 continues the action.
3. Placing 不 before the whole verb in the potential negative. The 不 infixes inside the compound: V + 不 + 下去.
❌ 我不坚持下去了。
Wrong — the potential negative infixes 不: 坚持不下去了.
✅ 我坚持不下去了。
wǒ jiānchí bu xiàqu le
I can't keep it up any longer. — 不 sits between 坚持 and 下去.
4. Using 下去 where 下来 (record/settle) is meant. To note something down and fix it, it's 下来.
❌ 请把这个新词记下去。
Wrong — recording/fixing something uses 下来, not 下去.
✅ 请把这个新词记下来。
qǐng bǎ zhège xīn cí jì xiàlai
Please write this new word down. — 下来 settles it into a record.
Key Takeaways
- Continuative V + 下去 means keep on V-ing — it prolongs an action that is already underway (说下去, 坚持下去, 活下去).
- Its potential form V得下去 / V不下去 says whether continuing is possible or bearable — 学不下去了 = "can't keep studying."
- In the negative potential, 不 infixes inside the compound: 坚持不下去, not 不坚持下去.
- 起来 starts an action, 下去 continues it, 下来 settles / records it — same 下, different phase.
- Don't use 下去 to begin something; that's 开始 or 起来.
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- Inceptive 起来: Starting Up (下起雨来)HSK 4 — As an aspect marker, V + 起来 signals the ONSET of an action or state — it begins and then builds: 天气热起来了 'the weather's warming up', 下起雨来了 'it started raining' — distinct from the literal 'upward' and figurative 'recall/seem' uses.
- Phase Verbs: 开始 / 继续 / 停 (Begin / Continue / Stop)HSK 2 — Phase verbs mark the start, middle, or end of an action and take a bare verb straight after them — 开始上课 (class begins), 继续工作 (keep working), 停下来 (come to a stop) — with no 'to' and no '-ing'.
- Potential Complements 可能补语HSK 3 — The potential complement bakes 'can / can't' into the verb–result unit by slipping 得 (de, able) or 不 (bu, unable) into the seam: 看得懂 'can understand' vs 看不懂 'can't understand', 吃得完 vs 吃不完 — inherent possibility, and the negative form does almost all the work.
- Figurative 起来: Recall, Seeming, InceptionHSK 4 — The 'upward, into view' image of 起来 (qǐ lái) extends to three everyday figurative senses: recalling (想起来), evaluating (看起来, 听起来, 说起来), and starting-and-continuing (下起雨来, 笑起来).