Verb + 来 + Verb + 去
Reach for this when you want to describe a back-and-forth action with no clear destination — pacing, thinking it over, running around, flipping pages, tossing a thought around. The same verb gets repeated with 来 then 去, sandwiching the movement. It paints a picture of repetition without progress: the doer is moving but not really getting anywhere.
Structure
[VERB] 来 [VERB] 去
[verb] lái [verb] qù
How to Think About It
来 + 去 are direction words that together cancel each other out — coming AND going. Pasting them around the same verb captures the futility or restlessness of an action: 走来走去 (pacing), 跑来跑去 (running around), 想来想去 (thinking it over and over). The pattern often carries a faint emotional color — boredom, anxiety, or aimlessness — that a plain verb wouldn't.
Examples
孩子们在公园里跑来跑去。
Háizimen zài gōngyuán lǐ pǎo lái pǎo qù.
The children are running around in the park.
我想来想去，还是不知道怎么办。
Wǒ xiǎng lái xiǎng qù, háishì bù zhīdào zěnme bàn.
I thought it over and over and still don't know what to do.
他在客厅走来走去，看起来很紧张。
Tā zài kètīng zǒu lái zǒu qù, kàn qǐlái hěn jǐnzhāng.
He paced back and forth in the living room, looking nervous.
Common Mistake
Learners insert a different verb for each slot, copying 'come and go' literally. The pattern needs the SAME verb on both sides — that's what creates the back-and-forth feel.
他在房间里走来跑去。
他在房间里走来走去。
Don't Confuse With
Verb + 一 + Verb
Means 'do something briefly / give it a try' (看一看, 想一想). It softens the action and shortens the duration. Verb 来 Verb 去 stretches the action out into pointless repetition.
一直 + Verb
Means 'keep doing X' — a single sustained action, no back-and-forth implied. '他一直走' is steady walking forward; '他走来走去' is pacing in place.
Verb + 着 + Verb + 着
Marks two ongoing actions happening together or an action that leads into a state ('听着听着就睡着了' — listened and listened and fell asleep). Different rhythm: it's a chain of duration, not a back-and-forth loop.
Practice
小猫在屋子里跑来跑____。
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去
他想来想去，____是决定留下。
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还
Put in order: [说去 / 老板 / 还是没决定 / 说来 / ，]
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老板说来说去，还是没决定。
Translate to Chinese: 'The dog is running back and forth in the yard.'
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狗在院子里跑来跑去。
Describe someone moving restlessly or thinking something over, using Verb + 来 + Verb + 去.
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Example answer: 我看来看去，最后买了一件黑色的。 (I looked and looked, and finally bought a black one.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode: