让 + Person + Verb/Adjective
Reach for this when one thing or person causes another to do something or feel a certain way — 'this makes me happy,' 'let him go,' 'the movie made everyone cry.' 让 is the Chinese causative: it covers both 'let/allow' and 'make/cause to feel.' It's a workhorse pattern — once you have it, you can describe how almost anything affects almost anyone. Neutral register, runs from casual chat to serious news writing.
Structure
Subject + 让 + [PERSON] + [VERB / ADJECTIVE]
ràng [PERSON]...
How to Think About It
让 hands the action off to someone else. The subject is the cause; the person after 让 is the one who actually does the verb or feels the adjective. Two flavors live inside the same word: 'allow' (我让他去 = I let him go) and 'cause' (这让我很高兴 = this makes me very happy). Context picks. With adjectives, 让 specifically conveys emotional impact — 让我开心, 让我难过, 让我吃惊 are the canonical shapes.
Examples
这部电影让我很感动。
Zhè bù diànyǐng ràng wǒ hěn gǎndòng.
This movie moved me a lot.
妈妈不让我看手机。
Māma bù ràng wǒ kàn shǒujī.
My mom won't let me look at my phone.
他的话让大家都笑了。
Tā de huà ràng dàjiā dōu xiào le.
What he said made everyone laugh.
Common Mistake
Learners try to use 让 with an adjective but skip the person, producing 这让高兴 ('this makes happy'). The slot for the affected person is required — even a generic 人 needs to be there.
这件事让生气。
这件事让我生气。
Don't Confuse With
使 + Person + Verb/Adjective
Same causative function, more formal. Use 让 in speech, 使 in essays and news. 使 doesn't carry the 'allow/permit' meaning.
叫 + Person + Verb
Slightly more like 'tell/order someone to do X.' 让 leans more neutral — could be permission, could be causing feeling.
给 + Person + Verb
Means 'do X for/to someone.' Not causative — the subject still does the verb. 让 hands the verb to the second person.
Practice
Fill in: 这件事____我很难过。
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让
Fill in: 老师让我们____十遍。
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读
Arrange: 让 / 这个消息 / 我 / 吃惊 / 很
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这个消息让我很吃惊。
Translate to Chinese: His words made me think a lot.
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他的话让我想了很多。
Use 让 to describe something that affected how you felt recently.
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今天的新闻让我有点担心。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 2 Fluentide episodes: