Out, back, and up

Out, back, and up

Cantonese loves to tack a **direction** onto the end of a verb to show which way the action goes. Think of texting a friend: you ask them to send a photo **over** to you, or to come **back** online. The direction word rides on the back of the verb, and whether it ends in **come** or **go** depends on which way it moves toward you. Let's see the pattern.

Tack the direction on the verb

V + direction + 嚟 (toward me) / 去 (away)

After a verb, add a direction word and end it with 嚟 if the action moves toward you or 去 if it moves away. 出嚟 is “come out”, 返嚟 is “come back (here)”, 返去 is “go back (there)”, 上去 is “go up”. In real Hong Kong texting people even hang it on an English verb: send 過嚟 means “send it over to me”.

Which way is it going?

Hang a **direction** on the end of a verb and finish with **come** when it heads toward you or **go** when it heads away. Out, back, and up all work the same way, and Hong Kong speakers happily clip them onto an English verb when they text. Now you can tell someone to send it over, come back, or head up without missing a beat.