让 meaning and stroke order
To yield; to permit; to let sb do sth
How to write 让, stroke by stroke
5 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Meaning of 让
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to yield
- to permit
- to let sb do sth
- to have sb do sth
- to make sb (feel sad etc)
- by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4])
How 让 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Speech.
讠 gives the meaning and 上 hints at the sound.
Radical: 讠 (words), shared by 144 characters on this site.
How to remember 让
让 is made of 讠 (speech) on the left and 上 (shàng, up) on the right. Picture yourself speaking politely and saying "you go up first," which is how you let someone go ahead or yield to them.
让 (ràng) most often means "to let" or "to make" someone do or feel something, placed before the person and then the action. It also means "to yield," as in 让座 (ràngzuò, to give up one's seat). Example: 妈妈不让我看电视。(Māma bú ràng wǒ kàn diànshì.) Mom doesn't let me watch TV.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read the right side as 土 or 止 and write it wrong. The right part is 上, with the short horizontal stroke sticking out to the right. Another trap is using 让 for "let's" in English, as in "let's go." Chinese uses 我们走吧 (wǒmen zǒu ba), not 让我们走, in everyday speech.
Common words with 让
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 转让 | zhuǎnràng | to transfer (ownership, rights etc) | HSK 5 |
| 让座 | ràngzuò | to give up one's seat for sb | HSK 6 |
| 让步 | ràngbù | to concede; to give in | HSK 7-9 |
| 退让 | tuìràng | to move aside; to get out of the way | HSK 7-9 |
| 让开 | ràngkāi | to get out of the way; to step aside | |
| 让路 | rànglù | to make way (for sth) | |
| 让位 | ràngwèi | to abdicate; to yield |
让 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 让
How many strokes are in 让?
让 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 让 mean?
让 (ràng) means to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth. A common word with it is 转让 (zhuǎnràng), meaning "to transfer (ownership, rights etc)".
How do you pronounce 让?
让 is pronounced ràng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 让?
The radical of 让 is 讠, which carries the idea of "words". Dictionaries list 让 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 让?
The traditional form of 让 is 讓. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 让 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 让 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 让 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
What is the difference between 让 and 叫 when meaning 'to make someone do something'?
Both can mean to have someone do something, as in 他让我等 or 他叫我等 (he had me wait). 叫 (jiào) sounds more like a direct order and is more colloquial. 让 is more neutral and also covers permission and causing feelings, like 这让我很难过 (this makes me very sad).
Can 让 be used like 被 to make a passive sentence?
Yes. In spoken Chinese 让 can mark who did the action, as in 我的钱包让人偷了 (wǒ de qiánbāo ràng rén tōu le), my wallet was stolen by someone. Unlike 被 (bèi), 让 in this use usually needs the doer to be stated after it.