Level 3 · Intermediate
Letting and making: 让
A + 让 + B + Verb · Traditional: A + 讓 + B + Verb
让 (ràng) means one person lets, makes, or tells another person do something: 老师让我们写汉字 "the teacher has us write characters", 我妈妈不让我玩手机 "my mom doesn't let me play on my phone". The doer of the second action comes right after 让.
To forbid something, negate 让 itself: 不让我去 "doesn't let me go". 叫 (jiào) works the same way for telling someone to do something: 妈妈叫我早点睡觉 "mom told me to go to bed early". 让 can even take a thing as the causer: 这件事让我很高兴 "this made me really happy".
Examples
我妈妈不让我玩手机。
我媽媽不讓我玩手機。
wǒ mā ma bù ràng wǒ wán shǒu jī
My mom doesn't let me play on my phone.
老师让我们每天写汉字。
老師讓我們每天寫漢字。
lǎo shī ràng wǒ men měi tiān xiě hàn zì
The teacher has us write Chinese characters every day.
这件事让我很高兴。
這件事讓我很高興。
zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒ hěn gāo xìng
This made me really happy.
妈妈叫我早点睡觉。
媽媽叫我早點睡覺。
mā ma jiào wǒ zǎo diǎn shuì jiào
Mom told me to go to bed early.
Common mistakes
✗ 妈妈让我不玩手机。
✓ 妈妈不让我玩手机。
To forbid something, negate 让 itself: 不让 + person + verb.
Related grammar points
See it in a story
Read this pattern in context: The Dream Creator: The Story of Walt Disney — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.
