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So I learned about させる, that it's like to influence someone to do something. Then we found this sentence on hunter x hunter. ミトさんは （ゴンさんに）ハンター （を）受けさせたくない んだよ。

A bit of context, Mito don't want Gone to take the hunter exam. Now I would translate 受けさせたくない as "not want to force him to take it", but my teacher told me it was wrong. For a half hour, he tried to explain it to me but I still didn't get it.

Can you guys help me? Thanks, Or

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～させる can also mean "to let (someone) do~~" "to allow (someone) to do~~". See definition #2 in プログレッシブ和英中辞典:

させる
・・・
２ 〔望みどおりにさせる〕let ((a person do))，allow ((a person to do))
お前には好きなようにさせてやろう
I will let you do as you wish.
一言述べさせていただきます
Let me [Allow me to] say one thing.／I'd like to say one thing, if I may.

so how about translating it as...

ミトさんは（ゴンさんに）ハンター（を）受けさせたくないんだよ。
"Mito-san doesn't want to let Gon-san take the hunter exam."

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  • Would "Doesn't want to not let him take it" be 受けさせなくたくない?
    – Nahcirn
    Nov 26, 2017 at 9:49
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    @Nahcirn I don't think 「受けさせなくたくない」 makes any sense... You don't say 「～なくたく～」 or 「～なくたい」.
    – Chocolate ♦
    Nov 26, 2017 at 12:22
  • @Nahcirn that sentence seems unnecessarily convoluted and makes me take pause even reading it in english
    – frei
    Nov 27, 2017 at 6:14
  • I see, the させる stuff is really complicated. "I don't want to force you" and "I don't want to let you" are written in the same way? there is a way to separate between these two meanings?
    – Smiled_One
    Nov 27, 2017 at 6:23
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    @Smiled_One Yes, they are written in the same way (Although させる usually means "let/allow" when you say させてもらう, させていただく, させてあげる, させてくれる etc, and "make/force/compel" when you say させられる), so 「受けさせたくない」 can mean either "don't want to let (him) take" or "don't want to force (him) to take". Here in your example "let/allow" just fits the context "Mito don't want Gone to take the hunter exam", so.. it'd usually be up to the context... Good luck! :)
    – Chocolate ♦
    Nov 27, 2017 at 13:26

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