Among all the potential complements, the set built on 起 (qǐ) is the one that pays back a beginner's effort fastest, because it hides inside words you already say every day — including 对不起 "sorry." The literal 起 means "rise / get up," but as a complement it turns figurative: "rise up to a required level or standard." So 买不起 is "unable to rise to the price" (can't afford), 看不起 is "unable to raise someone in your regard" (look down on), and 对不起 is "unable to face someone up to standard" (I've failed you → sorry). Learn these as a cluster: they are frozen, high-frequency, and share one idea.
起 = measuring up to a standard
Because 起 here means "reach the required level," the affirmative V得起 says "I can rise to it" and the negative V不起 says "I can't." Keep it apart from the plain attainment complement 到: 买得到 is "can obtain it (it's available)," while 买得起 is "can afford it (I have the means)."
| Verb + 起 | Can | Can't | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 买 (buy) | 买得起 (mǎi de qǐ) | 买不起 (mǎi bu qǐ) | can / can't afford (to buy) |
| 养 (support) | 养得起 (yǎng de qǐ) | 养不起 (yǎng bu qǐ) | can / can't afford to keep/raise |
| 请 (treat/hire) | 请得起 (qǐng de qǐ) | 请不起 (qǐng bu qǐ) | can / can't afford to hire/treat |
| 看 (regard) | 看得起 (kàn de qǐ) | 看不起 (kàn bu qǐ) | respect / look down on |
| 对 (face) | 对得起 (duì de qǐ) | 对不起 (duì bu qǐ) | do right by / fail (→ sorry) |
| 经 (undergo) | 经得起 (jīng de qǐ) | 经不起 (jīng bu qǐ) | can / can't withstand |
The money cluster: 买得起 / 买不起
The most literal use is financial: can your budget "rise to" the cost? This is one of the few potentials where the affirmative is common, because prices invite a yes/no: 买得起吗？—— 买不起.
这个包太贵了，我买不起。
zhège bāo tài guì le, wǒ mǎi bu qǐ
This bag is too expensive — I can't afford it. (informal)
在北京，很多年轻人买不起房子。
zài Běijīng, hěn duō niánqīngrén mǎi bu qǐ fángzi
In Beijing, a lot of young people can't afford an apartment. (neutral) — object 房子 after the block.
这种进口车，普通人养不起。
zhè zhǒng jìnkǒu chē, pǔtōng rén yǎng bu qǐ
An ordinary person can't afford to run this kind of imported car. (neutral)
我们请不起这么有名的律师。
wǒmen qǐng bu qǐ zhème yǒumíng de lǜshī
We can't afford such a famous lawyer. (neutral)
网上买得到，可是我买不起。
wǎng shang mǎi de dào, kěshì wǒ mǎi bu qǐ
You can get it online, but I can't afford it. (informal) — 买得到 (available) vs 买不起 (affordable), side by side.
市中心的房子我们租不起，只能住郊区。
shì zhōngxīn de fángzi wǒmen zū bu qǐ, zhǐ néng zhù jiāoqū
We can't afford a place downtown, so we can only live in the suburbs. (neutral) — 租不起 'can't afford to rent.'
The dignity cluster: 看得起, 对得起, 对不起
Slide from money to worth and 起 still means "measure up." 看得起 / 看不起 is regard: to "raise" someone in your eyes (respect) or not (look down on). 对得起 / 对不起 is living up to a duty: 对得起 someone is to "face them up to standard" — to have done right by them; 对不起 is to have failed them, which is exactly why it became the everyday word for "sorry." When you say 对不起, you are literally admitting "I couldn't face you as I should have."
他从来看不起穷人。
tā cónglái kàn bu qǐ qióngrén
He has always looked down on poor people. (neutral)
你别看不起自己，你一定行。
nǐ bié kàn bu qǐ zìjǐ, nǐ yídìng xíng
Don't look down on yourself — you can definitely do it. (informal)
对不起，我来晚了。
duì bu qǐ, wǒ lái wǎn le
Sorry, I'm late. (neutral) — literally 'unable to face you rightly.'
只要努力工作，就对得起自己的良心。
zhǐyào nǔlì gōngzuò, jiù duì de qǐ zìjǐ de liángxīn
As long as you work hard, you can face your own conscience. (neutral) — the affirmative 对得起.
这座桥经得起大地震。
zhè zuò qiáo jīng de qǐ dà dìzhèn
This bridge can withstand a major earthquake. (neutral) — 经得起 = 'rise to the test.'
Common Mistakes
1. Using 买不到 for "can't afford." 到 is about availability; 起 is about money.
❌ 太贵了，我买不到。
Wrong nuance — 买不到 means it's unavailable; for price, use 买不起.
✅ 太贵了，我买不起。
tài guì le, wǒ mǎi bu qǐ
It's too expensive — I can't afford it.
2. Using 不能 for affordability. The 起 potential, not a modal, expresses financial capacity.
❌ 我不能养这么多孩子。
Unnatural for 'can't afford' — this sounds like inability/refusal in general; use 养不起.
✅ 我养不起这么多孩子。
wǒ yǎng bu qǐ zhème duō háizi
I can't afford to raise this many children.
3. Confusing 看不起 (despise) with 看不上 (reject as unworthy). They mean different things.
❌ 他看不上穷人。
Wrong if you mean 'despises' — 看不上 = 'doesn't fancy'; for contempt use 看不起.
✅ 他看不起穷人。
tā kàn bu qǐ qióngrén
He looks down on poor people.
4. Writing 起 as 去 in this cluster. The complement is 起 (measure up), not the direction 去.
❌ 对不去，我错了。
Incorrect — the apology word is 对不起, built on 起, not 去.
✅ 对不起，我错了。
duì bu qǐ, wǒ cuò le
Sorry, I was wrong.
Key Takeaways
- The 起 potential means "measure up to a level / standard," literal (price) or figurative (worth, duty).
- Money cluster: 买得起 / 买不起 (afford), plus 养得起, 请得起, 住得起 — here the affirmative is genuinely common.
- Dignity cluster: 看得起 / 看不起 (respect / despise) and 对得起 / 对不起 (do right by / fail → sorry).
- 对不起 is a transparent V不C potential, not opaque vocabulary: "unable to face you rightly."
- Keep 起 apart from 到 (买得到 = available) and from 上 (看不上 = don't fancy).
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- Frozen Potential Idioms: 来不及, 受不了HSK 4 — A handful of potentials have frozen into set expressions you learn whole: 来得及 / 来不及 'in time / too late', 受得了 / 受不了 'can / can't stand', plus negative-only 了不起 'amazing', 怪不得 'no wonder', 恨不得 'wish one could', 巴不得 'can't wait for'.
- 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.
- Potential 得了 / 不了 (liǎo)HSK 4 — 得了 / 不了 (de liǎo / bu liǎo) is the all-purpose potential complement meaning an action can or can't be carried through — 去不了 (can't make it), 吃不了 (can't manage it all), 受不了 (can't stand it). The 了 here is read liǎo 'bring off', not le.
- Apologizing: 对不起/不好意思/抱歉/打扰HSK 2 — English 'sorry' does everything; Chinese grades apologies by weight. Light 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi) for small stuff, real 对不起 (duìbuqǐ) for genuine faults, formal 抱歉 (bàoqiàn) in writing and announcements, heavy 真的很抱歉/请原谅 for serious harm. The trap is over-firing 对不起 for a trivial bump — it sounds dramatic.