“These” and “those” in Chinese

Posted on by tiffany

Grammar Point:
The terms “these” and “those” in Chinese can be translated as follows:

  • These: 这些 zhèxiē
  • Those: 那些 nàxiē

🌈 Basically ”This“ and “that” + 些 xiē

Structure

这些 or 那些 + Noun

这些zhèxiē人rén是shì谁shéi？
Who are these people?

我wǒ不要búyào买mǎi那些nàxiē书shū
I don’t want to buy those books.

这些zhèxiē东西dōngxi要yào怎么办zěnmebàn？
What should we do with these things?

她tā想xiǎng跟gēn那些nàxiē中国人Zhōngguórén练习liànxi中文zhōngwén
She wants to practice Chinese with those Chinese people.

这些zhèxiē画儿huàr很hěn美měi
These paintings are beautiful.

这些zhèxiē菜cài打包dǎbāo起来qǐlái， 谢谢xièxie
Please pack up these dishes, thank you.

FYI
Have you heard of the Chinese 打包 dǎbāo culture? It’s actually quite interesting! 打包 dǎbāo refers to the tradition of taking home leftovers or unfinished items from a restaurant or event. In Chinese culture, 打包 dǎbāo is seen as a thoughtful way to avoid wasting food and resources. It’s considered polite to bring home leftovers instead of leaving them behind. Many restaurants even provide special containers just for this purpose!
So, next time you dine out or attend a gathering, feel free to join in the 打包 dǎbāo fun and take home some goodies!

Common Mistakes

Two character 那 nà and 哪 nǎ are indeed similar, but they have different meanings. 那 nà is used to indicate “those” and 哪 nǎ is “which” in English.

哪些nǎxiē人rén是shì你nǐ朋友péngyou？
Which people are your friends?

那些nàxiē人rén是shì你nǐ朋友péngyou
Those people are your friends.

Practice

TouchHover over the space to see the answers.

✔️ These things are difficult.

这些zhèxiē事shì很hěn难nán

✔️ I don’t want to hear these words.

我wǒ不想bùxiǎng听tīng这些zhèxiē话huà

✔️ Those problems are yours, not mine.

那些nàxiē问题wèntí是shì你的nǐde， 不是búshì我的wǒde

Do you like it? 🙂