想起 · 说起来 · V起来
recall, bring up · start to … · when you actually do it, it is …
Structure
想起／说起／提起 + 宾语 · 动词 + 起来 （开始） · 动词 + 起来 + 评价
What it means
起 or 起来 after a verb has three jobs: bringing something back to mind or into the conversation, marking a start, and giving an impression “when you actually do it”.
How it is built
想起／说起／提起 + object: 我想起了小学的伙伴 (I remembered my primary-school friends). Verb + 起来 for a start: 笑起来. Verb + 起来 + comment: 读起来很简单 (It reads simply).
When to use it
想起 + something: it suddenly comes back to you; with no object, 想起来了 “now I remember”. 说起／提起: you bring it up. 看起来 (h3-15)、读起来、做起来 + comment: “when you look at / read / do it, it is …”.
Watch out
Don’t mix up 想起 with 记得: 记得 is remembering all along, 想起 is something coming back to you. ✗ 我一直想起她。 ✓ 我一直记得她。
Examples
看到这张相片，我想起了小学的伙伴。
Seeing this photo, I remembered my primary-school friends.
一说起童年，她就笑了起来。
As soon as her childhood came up, she burst out laughing.
这首诗读起来很简单，可是含义很深。
This poem reads simply, but its meaning runs deep.
这件事说起来容易，做起来难。
This is easy to talk about but hard to do.
Learn this in HSK 4 · Lesson 26: 回忆童年 (Memories and a Tang poem)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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