Learn Hardcore Chinese: māma ràng wǒ chūmén de shíhou dài shàng màozi, shuō wàimiàn de tài yáng tài dà. - Mom tells me to put on a hat when going out, saying the sun outside is too strong.

让 is neutral and very common in everyday speech.
- It can feel like “tell” or “ask” in English, depending on tone:
  - 妈妈让我早点回家。= Mom told/asked me to come home early.
It doesn’t automatically mean “allow/let” (though it can in other contexts):
- 妈妈让我去旅行。= Mom lets/allows me to travel.

Here it’s “Mom told me / made me / had me put on a hat.”

What is the structure of 妈妈让我出门的时候戴上帽子? Who is doing what, and when?

The underlying structure is:

妈妈在我出门的时候让我戴上帽子。

The sentence in full is:

妈妈 / 让 / 我 / 出门的时候 / 戴上帽子
Subject: 妈妈 (Mom)
Main verb: 让 (to have/tell)
Person being told: 我 (me)
Time phrase: 出门的时候 (when [I] go out)
Action: 戴上帽子 (put on a hat)

So the logical meaning is:

“Mom, at the time when I go out, tells me to put on a hat.”

In Chinese, time phrases like 出门的时候 can be quite flexible in position. A more explicit version:

妈妈在我出门的时候让我戴上帽子。
Literally: “Mom, when I go out, tells me to put on a hat.”

Why do we say 出门的时候 and not just 出门时候?

In Chinese, 的 is usually needed to connect a modifier to a noun:

出门的时候
- 出门 = “to go out”
- 的 = modifier marker
- 时候 = “time / moment”
  → “the time of going out” = “when (I) go out”

时候 almost always takes 的 after a verb/clause that modifies it:

吃饭的时候 = when (I) eat
下雨的时候 = when it rains
上课的时候 = when (I) am in class

You’ll often see 的时候 written as one unit because it’s such a common pattern.

Typically you don’t use 的 when:

It’s a fixed expression with a pronoun or demonstrative:
- 什么时候 = when
- 那时候 = at that time
- 以前的时候 (less common than just 以前) is possible but sounds a bit heavier

What is the purpose of 上 in 戴上帽子? Why not just 戴帽子?

戴上 uses 上 as a result complement, meaning “to put [something] on (so that it ends up on your body)”.

戴帽子 = wear a hat (a general statement, or a habitual action)
戴上帽子 = put on the hat (focus on the action of putting it on and the resulting state “now it’s on your head”)

So:

妈妈让我戴帽子。
= Mom wants me to (be) wearing a hat.
妈妈让我戴上帽子。
= Mom tells me to put on a hat (now / at that moment).

In this context (when going out), 戴上帽子 highlights the action of putting it on before going outside.

What is the difference between 出门 and 出去? Could I say 妈妈让我出去的时候戴上帽子?

出门 and 出去 are similar but not identical:

出门
- Literally “exit the door”
- Common fixed phrase meaning “go out (from home / from where you are)”
- Slightly more “standard” in this context.
出去
- Literally “go out (go outwards)”
- Often needs a place or direction context:
  - 出去玩 = go out to have fun
  - 出去吃饭 = go out to eat

You could say:

妈妈让我出去的时候戴上帽子。

It’s understandable, but 出门的时候 sounds more natural for “when I go out (of the house)” in a general sense. 出门 is especially common when talking about leaving home.

Why is there a 的 after 外面 in 外面的太阳太大?

Here, 的 is again linking a modifier to a noun:

外面的太阳
- 外面 = outside
- 的 = modifier particle
- 太阳 = sun
  → “the sun outside”

Compare:

外面的天气 = the weather outside
家里的灯 = the light(s) in the house
中国的文化 = Chinese culture

Without 的, 外面太阳 would sound incomplete or ungrammatical in this meaning. You need 的 to say “the sun that is outside” / “the outside sun”.

Why does 太阳太大 mean “the sun is too strong” rather than “the sun is too big”?

Literally, 太阳太大 = “the sun is too big.”

But in context, Chinese speakers often use 大 metaphorically to mean strong / intense / harsh for things like:

太阳太大 = the sun is too strong / the sunlight is too intense
风太大 = the wind is very strong
声音太大 = the sound/volume is too loud

So 大 is not only about physical size; it can describe degree or intensity. That’s why in natural English we translate:

外面的太阳太大。
as
→ “The sun outside is too strong / it’s too sunny outside.”

Why are there two tài sounds: 太阳太大? Are these the same word?

In 太阳太大, the pinyin has tài yáng tài dà.

The first tài (in 太阳) and the second tài (in 太大) are:

Same pronunciation (tài, 4th tone)
Same character 太
But they play different roles:

太阳 (tài yáng) = “sun”
- It’s a fixed word: 太 + 阳 together make “sun”.
- You don’t usually analyze it as “too + yang”.
太大 (tài dà) = “too big / too strong”
- Here 太 is the adverb “too / excessively”.
- It modifies 大.

So:

太阳 = one word “sun”.
太大 = “too big/strong”.

The repetition is just a coincidence of the same syllable/character used in different roles.

Why is there no subject before 说外面的太阳太大? Who is “saying” here?

In Chinese, once the subject is clear from context, it’s often dropped to avoid repetition.

Full, explicit version would be:

妈妈让我出门的时候戴上帽子，妈妈说外面的太阳太大。

But repeating 妈妈 is unnecessary, so natural Chinese drops it:

妈妈让我出门的时候戴上帽子，说外面的太阳太大。

We understand that the “saying” is done by 妈妈 because she is the subject of the first clause, and there’s no indication that the subject has changed.

This is very common:

他没来，说身体不舒服。
= He didn’t come; (he) said he wasn’t feeling well.

Could we use 叫 instead of 让 here, like 妈妈叫我出门的时候戴上帽子? What’s the difference?

You can say:

妈妈叫我出门的时候戴上帽子。

and it’s understandable. The differences:

让
- Very common and neutral for “have/tell/ask someone to do something.”
- Slightly more general and standard in this kind of sentence.
叫
- Often used in speech to mean “tell / ask / order.”
- In some contexts, it can sound a bit more like ordering (depending on tone).
- Also used when reporting what someone tells you to do:
  - 他叫我帮他一下。= He told me to help him.

In this sentence, 让 is more typical, but 叫 doesn’t sound wrong; it might just feel a bit more colloquial in some dialects/regions.

Why is there no 了 in 妈妈让我出门的时候戴上帽子? Could I say 戴上了帽子?

Aspect particle 了 is used to mark completed action or a change of state.

戴上帽子 (without 了)
- Describes what Mom wants me to do whenever / at that time:
- General instruction: “to put on a hat.”

If you say:

妈妈让我出门的时候戴上了帽子。

this sounds like:

“Mom, when I went out, made me (and I in fact) put on a hat.”
It emphasizes that the action actually happened in this specific event.

In your sentence, we’re describing what Mom tells me to do (a directive), not necessarily narrating a completed event, so no 了 is natural and normal.

Could we say 因为外面的太阳太大 instead of 说外面的太阳太大?

You can change the structure to use 因为 if you also adjust the sentence:

Original:

妈妈让我出门的时候戴上帽子，说外面的太阳太大。
= Mom told me to wear a hat when I go out, saying the sun outside is too strong.

Using 因为:

妈妈让我出门的时候戴上帽子，因为外面的太阳太大。
= Mom told me to wear a hat when I go out because the sun outside is too strong.

Difference:

说 introduces reported speech / explanation in her own words.
因为 introduces a reason logically, like “because”.

Both are correct, but:

With 说, it’s like quoting or summarizing what Mom said.
With 因为, it’s more like you (the narrator) are explaining the reason logically, not necessarily quoting her.

Is 出门的时候 modifying 我, 出门, or 让我? Where does it attach in the sentence?

Logically, 出门的时候 is a time phrase describing when “let/tell me” happens:

Expanded:

妈妈 在我出门的时候 让我戴上帽子。

So:

在我出门的时候 = at the time when I go out
This whole time phrase modifies 让 (when she tells me).

In the compact version:

妈妈让我 出门的时候 戴上帽子

we still understand:

出门的 (my going out) + 时候 (time)
→ “at the time (I) go out”, which applies to the action of telling me to wear a hat.

You can also place it at the front:

我出门的时候，妈妈让我戴上帽子。
= When I go out, Mom tells me to put on a hat.

In all versions, the when-clause is about the time of the telling/wearing action.

What’s the difference between 帽子 and just 帽?

帽子 (màozi) = “hat” (normal, everyday word)
帽 by itself is more like the root “cap/hat” and is:
- Used in compound words:
  - 帽檐 (hat brim)
  - 帽子店 (hat shop)
- Used in more formal or fixed expressions:
  - 给他戴一顶高帽。(“Put a tall hat on him” – flatter him.)

In everyday speech, when you mean a physical hat, you almost always say 帽子:

一顶帽子 = a hat
戴帽子 = wear a hat

So 戴上帽子 is the normal, natural expression.