叫 jiào

叫(jiào)means “tell/make someone do: colloquial causative 叫”. 叫 works like 让 in the pattern 叫 + person + verb, telling or making someone do something. Formation: 叫 + 人 + 动词(否定:不叫)

tell/make someone do: colloquial causative 叫

HSK3

Formation

叫 + 人 + 动词(否定:不叫)

Explanation

叫 works like 让 in the pattern 叫 + person + verb, telling or making someone do something. It is more colloquial and often carries a sense of instructing or ordering. Negative 不叫 = tell someone not to / not let.

Examples

老师 叫 我们安静。
lǎoshī jiào wǒmen ānjìng.
The teacher tells us to be quiet.
妈妈 叫 我去买菜。
māma jiào wǒ qù mǎi cài.
Mom tells me to go buy groceries.

Note

Near-synonym of 让; 叫 sounds more like an instruction or order.

FAQ

叫 — what does it mean and how is it used?

tell/make someone do: colloquial causative 叫. 叫 works like 让 in the pattern 叫 + person + verb, telling or making someone do something. It is more colloquial and often carries a sense of instructing or ordering. Negative 不叫 = tell someone not to / not let.

叫 — how do you form it?

叫 + 人 + 动词(否定:不叫)

叫 — any usage notes?

Near-synonym of 让; 叫 sounds more like an instruction or order.

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