The causative and permission verb — 让 + [person] + [verb] means either "make someone do something" or "let someone do something," depending on context.
概览gàilǎnWhat 让 Does
语法洞见 yǔfǎ dòngjiàn · Grammar Insight
让 ràng is a pivotal verb — one that takes both a direct object (the person being caused or permitted) and a following verb phrase (what they are caused or permitted to do). The structure is always: [Subject] + 让 + [Person] + [Verb Phrase]. The subject causes or permits the person to perform the verb.
The two meanings of 让 — causative ("make, have, cause") and permissive ("let, allow") — are both covered by the same structure and often require context to distinguish. This ambiguity mirrors English "let," which similarly covers both "you let him fall" (permission/lack of prevention) and "let me help" (more of an invitation than permission). In Mandarin, 让 spans slightly further into the causative territory than English "let."
让 is also the polite structural choice — it is softer than its colloquial counterpart 叫 jiào (which can sound commanding or brusque) and more direct than 请 qǐng (which is formal/respectful). 让 occupies the neutral middle ground of everyday spoken Mandarin.
使役shǐyìCausative — Make Someone Do Something
使役句型 shǐyì jùxíng · Causative Pattern[Subject] + 让 + [Person] + [Verb Phrase]
妈妈让我做作业。Mom made me do homework.
老师让学生提前交作业。The teacher had students submit work early.
这件事让我很担心。This matter made me very worried. (emotional causative — no person agent needed)
让 + person + verbràng + person + verbMake/have someone do something
Structure 句型 jùxíng
In the causative reading, the subject exercises authority or influence to bring about the person's action. The person between 让 and the verb is the pivot — both the object of 让 and the subject of the following verb. This double grammatical role (被兼语 bèi jiānyǔ) is called a pivot construction (兼语句 jiānyǔ jù) — one of the distinctive structures of Mandarin syntax.
医生让我多喝水，少吃糖。
Yīshēng ràng wǒ duō hē shuǐ, shǎo chī táng.
The doctor told me to drink more water and eat less sugar.
用法 yòngfǎ · Emotional Causative
让 is extremely common in emotional causative sentences — where a situation or event (not a person) causes an emotional response. 这让我很高兴 "This made me very happy." 让 connects a triggering cause to an emotional result without any human agent directing the action.
允许yǔnxǔPermission — Let Someone Do Something
允许句型 yǔnxǔ jùxíng · Permission Pattern
Same structure, permissive meaning — the subject grants permission or opportunity:
请让我介绍一下。Please let me introduce myself.
他让孩子自己做决定。He let the child make their own decision.
不让 = don't allow: 不让进 "not allowed to enter" · 不让拍照 "no photography allowed"
让 / 不让ràng / bù ràngAllow / not allow — permission and prohibition
Structure 句型 jùxíng
In the permissive reading, 让 grants agency rather than directing it. 不让 + verb = prohibition — the withholding of permission. This is an extremely common pattern in everyday instructions and signage. 不让抽烟 = no smoking allowed. 让我想想 = "let me think about it" — a self-directed permission to pause.
请让我先说完。
Qǐng ràng wǒ xiān shuō wán.
Please let me finish speaking first.
这里不让停车。
Zhèlǐ bù ràng tíngchē.
Parking is not allowed here.
父母让她自己选择专业。
Fùmǔ ràng tā zìjǐ xuǎnzé zhuānyè.
Her parents let her choose her own major.
相关xiāngguānRelated Verbs — 叫, 请, 使, 令
使役动词 shǐyì dòngcí · The Causative Verb Family让 ràng — neutral, everyday: make/let someone do something 叫 jiào — colloquial, slightly blunt: tell/order someone to do something (妈妈叫我去睡觉 "mom told me to go to sleep") 请 qǐng — formal/polite: please do / request that someone do (请坐 "please sit"; 请他帮忙 "ask him to help") 使 shǐ — formal/literary: cause (used in 把 and formal constructions; 使我失望 "caused me disappointment") 令 lìng — literary/elevated: cause; make (令人感动 "moving, touching" — lit. "causes people to be moved")
例句lìjùExtended Examples — Natural Contexts
让 across contextsnatural usageCausative and permission in everyday conversation
Examples 例句
Diverse examples showing 让 in instructions, emotional responses, social situations, and prohibitions.