Do you think that ‘come in’ and ‘go in’ have the same meaning?
While both phrases are the synonym to the word ‘enter’, they are actually being used in different ways!
If you are at inside your house, and you’re asking the guest to enter your house, you’ll have to say: “come in”.
On the other hand, if you are at the outside of your house with the guest, and you’re letting the guest enter your house first, you’ll have to say: “go in”.
The key lies in the perspective of the speaker – the same rules apply in Chinese ‘to come’ and ‘to go’ as well.
Come vs Go in Chinese
來 [来] (lái) is used to indicate ‘to come’ – the action is coming closer to the speaker.
Examples:
他是來學中文的。
他是来学中文的。
Tā shì lái xué zhōngwén de.
He is here to learn Chinese.
你有空時，記得來加拿大找我哦！
你有空时，记得来加拿大找我哦！
Nǐ yǒu kòng shí, jìdé lái jiānádà zhǎo wǒ ó!
When you have time, remember to come to Canada to find me!
去 (qù) suggests ‘to go’ – the action is moving away from the speaker.
Examples:
姐姐不在家，她出去了。
姐姐不在家，她出去了。
Jiějiě bù zàijiā, tā chūqùle.
The sister is not at home, she went out.
李總叫你去辦公室一趟。
李总叫你去办公室一趟。
Lǐ zǒng jiào nǐ qù bàngōngshì yī tàng.
General Manager Li asked you to go to the office.
Tips to Remember!
If the speaker is not at the place mentioned, use 來 [来] (lái).
In contrast, if the speaker is already at the place mentioned, use 去 (qù) instead.
Read: How to Differentiate the Three “De” Particles in Chinese
Repetition of an Action
If we want to express that an action is being repeated, we can use the following verb together with both 來 [来] (lái) and去 (qù).
Structure: Verb + 来 + Verb + 去
Examples:
想來想去
想来想去
xiǎnglái xiǎng qù
to think about something continuously
我想來想去也想不起她的名字。
我想来想去也想不起她的名字。
Wǒ xiǎnglái xiǎng qù yě xiǎng bù qǐ tā de míngzì.
I have been thinking over and over again but I still cannot remember her name.
走來走去
走来走去
zǒu lái zǒu qù
to move back and forth
我不喜歡別人在我思考的時候走來走去。
我不喜欢别人在我思考的时候走来走去。
Wǒ bù xǐhuān biérén zài wǒ sīkǎo de shíhòu zǒu lái zǒu qù.
I do not like people walking back and forth when I am thinking.
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