How to use 住；开；出来
Verb + 住 / 开 / 出(来)
Result complements tell the listener what an action achieves. 住 commonly conveys securing, retaining, or stopping something; its meaning extends beyond physical holding to mental retention. 开 often involves opening, separation, or dispersal. 出 or 出来 can describe something emerging into view, being produced, or becoming recognizable. The original spatial meanings help explain many of these extended uses.
Place the result component directly after the verb, and interpret the whole combination in context. A complement may have a conventional meaning that cannot be guessed from either character alone. When negating a completed result, use the appropriate event negation; when discussing inability, a potential form expresses a different claim about whether the result can be achieved.
Examples with pinyin and English
一定要记住我的话。
You must remember what I said.
请打开书。
Please open your book.
你能想出什么好办法？
What good ideas can you come up with?
她肯定是北方人，我能听出来。
She must be from the north. I can hear it.
What to remember
- Read the verb and result complement together.
- Use context to interpret physical and figurative meanings.
- Distinguish an unachieved result from an impossible result.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
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