<p>Quote:- Indicates a return to normal state?</p>
<p>It actually means a transformation to a new state. In this case, a &quot;new state of  understanding&quot;</p>
<p>Let me elaborate.</p>
<p>When you tell someone to 过来, it means to tell that person to &quot;come here or come over here&quot; to where you are.</p>
<p>Why 过来? It means to tell that person to &quot;traverse&quot;, 过, (to pass through) the physical space between where he was originally to &quot;come&quot;, 来, to the space where you are. So, &quot;come&quot;, (traverse from where he was), to &quot;here&quot;, (where you are)</p>
<p>So, how does all these metaphysical reasoning has to do with the 过来 in 他随后明白过来?</p>
<p>The sentence, in English, means &quot;He then, (afterwards), understood&quot; But there is no past tense in Chinese, so how to say he now understands what he had not understood before?</p>
<p>Following from our metaphysical reasoning above, he now understands because he had traversed the &quot;old space / state&quot;, from ignorance, (where he originally was), to the &quot;new space / state&quot; of understanding, (where he is now), that is, he now 明白过来.</p>
<p>Actually, the more usual way in Chinese to indicate a &quot;past tense marker&quot; is to use 了, as in 明白了, and 明白过来 is just a more formal expression.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-12T11:10:25.853Z
2023-05-13T04:50:13.277Z
2023-05-13T04:50:13.277Z
Wayne Cheah
<p>The words 来 and 去 are like the English words this and that, or here and there. They have extended meanings in Chinese. Basically, 来 indicates something as wished and welcomed, and 去 means not very good. For example,</p>
<p>(1) 这些年生活好起<strong>来</strong>了。= The livelihood became better in those years.</p>
<p>(2) 钱都被他花出<strong>去</strong>了。= He spent all of the money.</p>
<p>(3) 在家休息了几天，他的体力恢复<strong>过来</strong>了。= After a couple of days relaxing at home, he feels that he is revived.</p>
<p>(4) 他的病，好转了几天，怎么又变<strong>回去</strong>了？= He feels better for some days but now it goes back.</p>

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2023-05-13T00:09:03.423Z
2023-05-13T00:09:03.423Z
PdotWang
<p>Since 来 means &quot;to come&quot;, using 过来 feels like that person comes to the same state as the speaker.</p>
<p>Think about the following examples:</p>
<ul>
<li>他醒过来了。</li>
<li>他睡过去了。</li>
<li>他晕过去了。</li>
<li>他死去了。</li>
</ul>

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2023-05-13T00:48:17.003Z
2023-05-13T00:48:17.003Z
王博龙
<p>过来, when used after the verb, means &quot;can&quot; or &quot;manage&quot;.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>他随后<strong>明白</strong>过来 - He (soon) later managed to realize.</p>
</li>
<li><p>他终于<strong>醒</strong>过来了 - He managed to wake up in the end.</p>
</li>
<li><p>活儿不多, 我一个人<strong>干得</strong>过来 - There is not much of a workload, I myself can manage it.</p>
</li>
</ul>

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2023-05-12T18:40:07.000Z
2023-05-12T18:40:07.000Z
r13
<p>I saw 他随后明白过来 as a clause. Does the 过来 imply that it took like some effort or some extra time so that they could return to this normal state of understanding? Like it was a discovrery?</p>

<direction-complement>
What Does It Mean When 过来 Indicates A Return To Normal State?
# What Does It Mean When 过来 Indicates A Return To Normal State?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-05-12)

I saw 他随后明白过来 as a clause. Does the 过来 imply that it took like some effort or some extra time so that they could return to this normal state of understanding? Like it was a discovrery?

**Tags:** direction-complement


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-05-12. Score: 4

Quote:- Indicates a return to normal state?

It actually means a transformation to a new state. In this case, a "new state of understanding"

Let me elaborate.

When you tell someone to 过来, it means to tell that person to "come here or come over here" to where you are.

Why 过来? It means to tell that person to "traverse", 过, (to pass through) the physical space between where he was originally to "come", 来, to the space where you are. So, "come", (traverse from where he was), to "here", (where you are)

So, how does all these metaphysical reasoning has to do with the 过来 in 他随后明白过来?

The sentence, in English, means "He then, (afterwards), understood" But there is no past tense in Chinese, so how to say he now understands what he had not understood before?

Following from our metaphysical reasoning above, he now understands because he had traversed the "old space / state", from ignorance, (where he originally was), to the "new space / state" of understanding, (where he is now), that is, he now 明白过来.

Actually, the more usual way in Chinese to indicate a "past tense marker" is to use 了, as in 明白了, and 明白过来 is just a more formal expression.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2023-05-13. Score: 0

The words 来 and 去 are like the English words this and that, or here and there. They have extended meanings in Chinese. Basically, 来 indicates something as wished and welcomed, and 去 means not very good. For example,

(1) 这些年生活好起**来**了。= The livelihood became better in those years.

(2) 钱都被他花出**去**了。= He spent all of the money.

(3) 在家休息了几天，他的体力恢复**过来**了。= After a couple of days relaxing at home, he feels that he is revived.

(4) 他的病，好转了几天，怎么又变**回去**了？= He feels better for some days but now it goes back.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2023-05-13. Score: 0

Since 来 means "to come", using 过来 feels like that person comes to the same state as the speaker.

Think about the following examples:

* 他醒过来了。
* 他睡过去了。
* 他晕过去了。
* 他死去了。


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### Answer by username_4 on 2023-05-12. Score: 0

过来, when used after the verb, means "can" or "manage".

* 他随后**明白**过来 - He (soon) later managed to realize.
* 他终于**醒**过来了 - He managed to wake up in the end.
* 活儿不多, 我一个人**干得**过来 - There is not much of a workload, I myself can manage it.


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