A compound directional complement stacks both layers introduced in the directional overview onto a single verb: a path morpheme (上 / 下 / 进 / 出 / 回 / 过 / 起) that gives the physical trajectory, followed by a deictic 来 / 去 that fixes it to the speaker. 走进来 is "walk in (and the walking comes toward me)"; 跑出去 is "run out (away from me)"; 拿回来 is "take-back (bring it here)." English usually crams both meanings into one particle or verb — come in, run out, bring back — but Chinese lines them up transparently: verb + path + 来/去. The order never varies, and once you see the three slots, the whole system reads like clockwork.
The three-slot structure
Read a compound directional left to right and you get the full picture of the motion:
| Verb (how) | Path (which way) | Deixis (toward/away) | Whole | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 走 zǒu (walk) | 进 jìn (in) | 来 (toward me) | 走进来 | walk in (here) |
| 跑 pǎo (run) | 出 chū (out) | 去 (away) | 跑出去 | run out (there) |
| 拿 ná (carry) | 回 huí (back) | 来 (toward me) | 拿回来 | bring back |
| 走 zǒu (walk) | 过 guò (across) | 去 (away) | 走过去 | walk over (there) |
| 爬 pá (climb) | 上 shàng (up) | 来 (toward me) | 爬上来 | climb up (here) |
The verb tells you how the thing moves, the path tells you which way, and 来/去 tell you relative to whom. Drop any slot and the picture breaks.
孩子们一放学就跑进来了。
háizimen yí fàng xué jiù pǎo jìn lai le
The kids ran in the moment school let out. (informal) — 跑 + 进 + 来: running, inward, toward the speaker.
他站起来，走过去开了门。
tā zhàn qǐ lai, zǒu guò qu kāi le mén
He stood up, walked over, and opened the door. — two compounds: 站起来 (up, into view) and 走过去 (across, away).
他从楼上慢慢走下来。
tā cóng lóu shàng mànmàn zǒu xià lai
He walked slowly down from upstairs. (neutral) — 走 + 下 + 来: the descent comes toward the speaker below.
请把这些书拿回去，我不需要了。
qǐng bǎ zhèxiē shū ná huí qu, wǒ bù xūyào le
Please take these books back — I don't need them anymore. — 拿 + 回 + 去: carry, back, away from me.
Deixis still rules: 来 vs 去 in the compound
The path morpheme is fixed by physics, but the final 来/去 still swings with the speaker's standpoint. The same run out the door is 跑出来 or 跑出去 depending on where you are:
我在院子里，看见猫从屋里跑出来。
wǒ zài yuànzi lǐ, kàn jiàn māo cóng wū lǐ pǎo chū lai
I was in the yard and saw the cat run out of the house. — I'm outside, so the cat's exit approaches me: 出来.
我在屋里，猫一下子跑出去了。
wǒ zài wū lǐ, māo yíxiàzi pǎo chū qu le
I was inside, and the cat suddenly ran out. — I'm inside, so the exit departs from me: 出去.
Where the object goes — the tricky part
This is what trips up even solid intermediate learners. With a compound directional, the object lands inside the complement, and which inside slot depends on what kind of object it is.
A place / location object goes between the path and 来/去 — and only there:
请走进屋里来，别在外面等。
qǐng zǒu jìn wū lǐ lái, bié zài wàimiàn děng
Please walk into the house — don't wait outside. — place 屋里 sits between 进 and 来: 走进屋里来.
他跑上楼去拿手机了。
tā pǎo shàng lóu qù ná shǒujī le
He ran upstairs to get his phone. — place 楼 between 上 and 去: 跑上楼去.
You cannot say *走进来屋里 — the location must break the path from the deixis.
A thing object splits the pair too — sitting between the path and 来/去 (the classic split form), or it may follow the whole complement. Compare the two orders for "take out a book":
他从书包里拿出一本书来。
tā cóng shūbāo lǐ ná chū yì běn shū lái
He took a book out of his bag. — the split form: 拿 + 出 + 一本书 + 来. The object sits before the final 来.
他从书包里拿出来一本书。
tā cóng shūbāo lǐ ná chū lai yì běn shū
He took out a book from his bag. — the same event, object after the whole 出来. Both orders are natural.
The split form (拿出一本书来) is the textbook-classic and stays crisp with short, specific objects; putting the object after the complement (拿出来一本书) is very common in speech, especially when the object is longer or freshly introduced. Note the contrast with the simple directional, where a thing object had just two spots around a single 来/去 (拿一本书来 / 拿来一本书) — the compound adds the path morpheme, so the split lands after 出 rather than after 拿.
快把行李搬进来，外面下雨了。
kuài bǎ xíngli bān jìn lai, wàimiàn xià yǔ le
Hurry and bring the luggage in — it's raining outside. — with a 把-fronted definite object, the compound directional stays intact: 搬进来.
Common Mistakes
1. Dropping the path or the deixis. Both slots carry meaning; you can't shed one.
❌ 他从楼上走来了。
Incomplete for 'walked down' — the path 下 is missing: 走下来.
✅ 他从楼上走下来了。
tā cóng lóu shàng zǒu xià lai le
He walked down from upstairs. — verb + path 下 + deixis 来.
2. Reversing path and 来/去. The order is rigidly verb → path → 来/去.
❌ 那只猫跳来上了沙发。
Wrong order — path 上 precedes the anchor 来: 跳上来.
✅ 那只猫跳上来趴在沙发上。
nà zhī māo tiào shàng lai pā zài shāfā shàng
The cat jumped up and lay on the sofa. — 跳 + 上 + 来.
3. Putting a place object after 来/去. A location can only break the path from the deixis.
❌ 请走进来屋里。
Wrong — the place 屋里 must sit between 进 and 来: 走进屋里来.
✅ 请走进屋里来。
qǐng zǒu jìn wū lǐ lái
Please come into the house. — place between path and deixis.
4. Mangling the thing-object split. With a thing object in the split form, it sits after the path, before 来/去 — not after the verb.
❌ 他拿一本书出来来。
Wrong — don't double the 来; the split form is 拿出一本书来.
✅ 他拿出一本书来。
tā ná chū yì běn shū lái
He took out a book. — 拿 + 出 + object + 来.
Key Takeaways
- A compound directional = verb + path (上下进出回过起) + deixis (来/去), in that fixed order.
- The path is set by physics; the 来/去 still tracks the speaker — 跑出来 vs 跑出去 flips with your vantage point.
- Place objects sit only between the path and 来/去: 走进屋里来, 跑上楼去.
- Thing objects split the pair (拿出一本书来) or follow the whole complement (拿出来一本书) — both are natural; a definite object is often fronted with 把 (把书拿出来).
- The final 来/去 usually goes toneless; up next, the special case of literal 起来 "up".
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- Simple Directionals 来 & 去HSK 2 — The simple directional complements 来 and 去 sit straight on a motion verb to orient the whole event to the speaker: 拿来 'bring (here)', 拿去 'take (away)', 上来 'come up', 回去 'go back' — and a place object slots between the verb and 来/去 (回家来 'come home').
- Literal 起来: Motion UpwardHSK 3 — As a literal directional, 起来 means 'up, from a resting position into view': 站起来 'stand up', 拿起来 'pick up', 抱起来 'lift up in the arms' — 起 (up) plus deictic 来, with the object splitting the pair (拿起书来 'pick the book up').
- Where the Object Goes in DirectionalsHSK 4 — The word-order rules for objects with directional complements: a place object locks before 来/去 (回学校去), a thing object may split the complement (拿出一本书来) or trail it (拿出来一本书), and definite objects front with 把.
- 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).