给 gěi — to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb)
妈妈给我做了一个生日蛋糕。Mā ma gěi wǒ zuò le yí ge shēng rì dàn gāo.Mom made me a birthday cake.
Common words: 交给 (jiāo gěi)、送给 (sòng gěi)、递给 (dì gěi)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to allow"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to allow", including 给 (gěi), 许 (xǔ), 让 (ràng), 准 (zhǔn), 容 (róng), 随 (suí). Study pinyin, English meanings…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to allow" covers 7 different Chinese characters — 给 (gěi), 许 (xǔ), 让 (ràng), 准 (zhǔn), 容 (róng), 随 (suí), 允 (yǔn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 7 characters do not share a sound — their readings span gěi, xǔ, ràng, zhǔn, róng, suí, and more — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 给 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 给 gěito; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb)Useful words: 交给, 送给
- 许 xǔto allow; to permit; to praise; (surname)Useful words: 也许, 许多
- 让 ràngto ask; to let; permit; have (someone do something); to yield; to allowUseful words: 转让, 让步
- 准 zhǔnto allow; to grant; to permit; accurate; standard; accurateUseful words: 准备, 准确
- 容 róngto hold; to contain; to allow; appearance; look; countenanceUseful words: 容易, 内容
Common words for these 7 "to allow" characters
Anchor each of these 7 characters in a word you can picture — start with 给 (gěi) — so "to allow" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
交给jiāo gěito give; to deliver; to hand over送给sòng gěito send; to give as a present递给dì gěito hand it (i.e. the aforementioned item) to (sb)也许yě xǔperhaps; maybe许多xǔ duōmany; a lot of; much或许huò xǔperhaps; maybe转让zhuǎn ràngto transfer (ownership, rights etc)让步ràng bùto concede; to give in; to yield; a concession让座ràng zuòto give up one's seat for sb准备zhǔn bèipreparation; to prepare; to intend; to be about to
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 7 ways to say "to allow".
许 xǔ — to allow; to permit; to praise; (surname)
这里不许吸烟。Zhè lǐ bù xǔ xī yān.Smoking is not allowed here.
Common words: 也许 (yě xǔ)、许多 (xǔ duō)、或许 (huò xǔ)
让 ràng — to ask; to let; permit; have (someone do something); to yield; to allow
请让我帮你吧。Qǐng ràng wǒ bāng nǐ ba.Please let me help you.
Common words: 转让 (zhuǎn ràng)、让步 (ràng bù)、让座 (ràng zuò)
准 zhǔn — to allow; to grant; to permit; accurate; standard; accurate
他每天都很准时上班。Tā měi tiān dōu hěn zhǔn shí shàng bān.He goes to work on time every day.
Common words: 准备 (zhǔn bèi)、准确 (zhǔn què)、标准 (biāo zhǔn)
容 róng — to hold; to contain; to allow; appearance; look; countenance
这个教室能容纳五十个学生。Zhè ge jiào shì néng róng nà wǔ shí ge xué sheng.This classroom can hold fifty students.
Common words: 容易 (róng yì)、内容 (nèi róng)、形容 (xíng róng)
随 suí — to follow; to comply with; to allow; (surname)
请随我来。Qǐng suí wǒ lái.Please follow me.
Common words: 随便 (suí biàn)、随时 (suí shí)、随着 (suí zhe)
允 yǔn — just; fair; to permit; to allow
妈妈允许我周末多玩一会儿。Mā ma yǔn xǔ wǒ zhōu mò duō wán yí huìr.Mom allows me to play a little longer on weekends.
Common words: 允许 (yǔn xǔ)、允当 (yǔn dàng)、公允 (gōng yǔn)
All 7 characters
Open 给、许、让 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.