Learn Hardcore Chinese: Wǒ xiǎngqǐ nà gè shēngbìng de péngyou, yòu xiǎng kū le. - When I thought of that sick friend again, I felt like crying again.

If you only said 我想那个生病的朋友, it would more likely mean “I miss that sick friend” or “I’m thinking about that sick friend”, not necessarily “it suddenly came to mind”.

What does the 起 in 想起 do?

起 here is a directional complement that has become part of a fixed expression. Literally, 起 can mean “up / to rise”, but in verb–complement patterns like 想起, it gives a sense of:

the action starts and comes up into awareness.

Other similar patterns:

想起来 – essentially the same as 想起, often a bit more colloquial.
记起 / 记起来 – to remember.

So 想起 as a whole means “to recall / to think of (again)”, not “to think up”.

Why is there a 的 in 生病的朋友? Can I drop it and say 生病朋友?

的 marks an attributive modifier in front of a noun.

生病的朋友 = “the friend who is sick / the sick friend”.
- 生病的 is describing 朋友, so we need 的.

You generally cannot drop 的 when a verb or verb-like word (such as 生病, which is a verb “to be ill”) modifies a noun.

生病朋友 is not natural Chinese; it sounds like two nouns stuck together rather than “a sick friend”.

Why is it 那个生病的朋友 and not 那个朋友生病?

These structures mean different things:

那个生病的朋友
- “that sick friend”
- This is one noun phrase describing a specific friend, with 生病的 as an adjective-like modifier before 朋友.
那个朋友生病
- “that friend is sick”
- This is a whole sentence: subject 那个朋友, predicate 生病.

In the original sentence, we need an object for 想起 (“thought of X”), so we must use the noun phrase: 那个生病的朋友.

Why do we need the measure word 个 after 那? Could we say 那生病的朋友?

In modern Mandarin, a demonstrative (那 / 这) + measure word + noun structure is standard:

那 + 个 + 朋友 = “that friend”

While you may sometimes hear 那朋友 in very casual speech or certain dialect-influenced contexts, the normal, standard form is:

那个朋友, 那个生病的朋友

So 个 is the classifier for 朋友 here and is expected in standard Mandarin.

What does 又 mean here, and why not 再 or 还?

又 in 又想哭了 means “again (and it has already happened before)” or “once more (in addition)”, with a feeling of repetition or “on top of that”.

又:
- used for repeated actions in the past/present (“again, and it happened before”).
- often carries an emotional tone: “oh no, it’s happening again”.
再:
- usually used for future or hypothetical repetition (“do it again later”).
- e.g. 再说一次 – “say it again (later / next time)”.
还:
- can mean “still / also / even”, and doesn’t specifically mean “again”.

So 又想哭了 implies: “I feel like crying again, like before.”

Does 又想哭了 mean “want to cry again” or “feel like crying again”?

Literally, 想 often means “to want”, but in emotional contexts like:

想哭
想笑
想死 (intensifier: “I could just die (of X)”)

it is closer to “feel like…” or “have the urge to…”.

So 又想哭了 is more naturally understood as:

“I feel like crying again / I want to cry again (emotionally, not as a deliberate plan).”

It emphasizes a spontaneous emotional reaction rather than a carefully decided intention.

What is the function of the sentence-final 了 in 又想哭了?

This 了 is a sentence-final 了, marking a change of state or a new situation:

Before: I was not (yet) in a “want-to-cry” state.
Now: I have entered that state; I now feel like crying (again).

So 又想哭了 ≈ “(Now) I feel like crying again”, or “I’ve (once again) gotten to the point where I want to cry.”

It is not just a simple past-tense marker; it’s showing the arrival of an emotional state.

Could we say 我想起那个生病的朋友，又哭了 instead? What’s the difference from 又想哭了?

Both are grammatically correct, but the meanings differ:

又哭了
- “cried again” – the crying actually happened.
又想哭了
- “felt like crying again / wanted to cry again” – emphasizes the urge or feeling, not necessarily that crying happened.

The original sentence highlights the emotional impact (the desire to cry), not the actual action of crying.

Why doesn’t the second clause repeat 我? Why not 我又想哭了?

In Chinese, if two clauses share the same subject, it is very common to mention the subject only once:

我想起那个生病的朋友，又想哭了。

The reader/listener automatically understands that 我 is still the subject of 想哭.

You can say 我又想哭了:

我想起那个生病的朋友，我又想哭了。

This is also correct; it just sounds slightly more explicit or emphatic. The original is more concise and natural.

Is the comma (，) doing anything special here? Could it be two sentences?

The comma simply separates two closely related clauses:

我想起那个生病的朋友，
又想哭了。

You could also write:

我想起那个生病的朋友。又想哭了。

But putting them in one sentence with a comma makes the connection feel smoother and more immediate: “As soon as I thought of that sick friend, I (then) felt like crying again.”

Can I say 我想到那个生病的朋友 instead of 我想起那个生病的朋友?

想到 and 想起 are close, but not identical:

想到
- literally “to think of / to manage to think of (an idea)”
- can stress the content of a thought or idea, sometimes with a sense of “I came up with / hit upon (this idea).”
想起
- focuses more on recalling something from memory, often unexpectedly or emotionally.

In this emotional context (remembering a sick friend and wanting to cry), 想起 is more natural, because it highlights memory and emotional recall. 想到 is not wrong, but it sounds slightly less about “recalling a memory” and more like “having a thought of that friend”.

Why is 生病的朋友 one unit, but 想起那个生病的朋友 doesn’t have 的 after 那个?

There are two different uses of 的:

Between modifier and noun
- 生病的朋友: 生病的 modifies 朋友, so we must use 的.
Between possessor/descriptor and noun
- e.g. 我的朋友, 聪明的孩子.

But with 那 / 这 + measure word + noun, we normally do not insert 的:

那个朋友, not 那的个朋友 or 那的朋友.

So:

想起 + 那个 + 生病的 + 朋友
- 那 → demonstrative
- 个 → measure word
- 生病的 → modifier of 朋友
- 朋友 → noun

Only 生病 needs 的 in front of 朋友. The 那 + 个 structure does not.