How to use 谅
（我）谅 + person + 也 + negative predicate
谅 can introduce a confident assessment of another person's likely behavior. It often occurs with a negative about what the person would dare or have the courage to do. In such contexts, English I bet or I expect captures the speaker's assurance. The wording can sound challenging, dismissive, or calculating rather than a neutral prediction based on impersonal evidence.
The speaker may state 我 before 谅 or leave that viewpoint understood. Put the person whose behavior is assessed after it, followed by the predicate; 也 is common in the negative assertion. This use is distinct from the broader family of meanings about understanding or forgiving someone. Learn it through complete conversational contexts because the interpersonal tone is central.
Examples with pinyin and English
我谅他也不敢当面撒谎。
I bet he would not dare lie to my face.
谅 introduces a confident, challenging assumption.
谅你也没胆量一个人去。
I bet you do not have the nerve to go alone.
The speaker's viewpoint is understood without 我.
他是谅我们不敢反对，才这样决定的。
He decided this way because he assumed we would not dare object.
谅 describes the assumption motivating another person's decision.
What to remember
- Use 谅 for a confident personal assessment.
- Expect negative predicates about daring or ability.
- Distinguish this assertive use from understanding or forgiveness.
Practise the pattern
Use one example as a model. Change the people, objects or situation, keeping the grammar pattern in the same order. Read the explanation again to check how your sentence uses the construction.
Look up the grammar words
Source and editorial notes
Explanation and examples written for Laowai using the grammar curriculum as a topic reference. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.