Pronouns in Chinese 1

Grammar Point:
Mandarin Chinese has a relatively small number of pronouns, and unlike many European languages, there is no need to worry about subject-verb agreement.

I and You

我wǒ我wǒ I	我的wǒde我的wǒde my	我wǒ我wǒ me
你nǐ你nǐ you	你的nǐde你的nǐde your	你nǐ你nǐ you

我wǒ愛ài你nǐ我wǒ爱ài你nǐ
I love you.

我的wǒde狗gǒu我的wǒde狗gǒu
My dog.

我wǒ喜歡xǐhuān你的nǐde錢qián我wǒ喜欢xǐhuan你的nǐde钱qián
I like your money.

Note: You may have noticed that there are two ways to say “you” in Chinese. When addressing elders or someone in authority, it is considered more polite to use the formal 您 nín instead of the less formal 你 nǐ.

He and She

In fact, there are five different pronouns for “it” in Chinese. The other two are used for referring to animals and deities or gods.

他tā他tā he (for people and male)	他的tāde他的tāde his	他tā他tā him
她tā她tā she	她的tāde她的tāde her	她tā她tā her
它tā它tā it	它的tāde它的tāde its	它tā它tā it

她tā不bú愛ài他tā她tā不bú爱ài他tā
She doesn’t love him.

它tā在zài哪裡nǎlǐ？ 它tā在zài哪里nǎlǐ？
Where is it?

他tā是shì她的tāde爸爸bàba他tā是shì她的tāde爸爸bàba
He is her father.

We, You, and They

The plural pronoun in Chinese is very easy – just add 們们 men

我們wǒmen我们wǒmen we	我們的wǒmende我们的wǒmende our	我們wǒmen我们wǒmen us
你們nǐmen你们nǐmen You (plural)	你們的nǐmende你们的nǐmende your	你們nǐmen你们nǐmen you
他們tāmen他们tāmen they	他們的tāmende他们的tāmende their	他們tāmen他们tāmen them

我們wǒmen是shì朋友péngyǒu我们wǒmen是shì朋友péngyou
We are friends.

他們tāmen在zài你們的nǐmende家jiā他们tāmen在zài你们的nǐmende家jiā
They are in your house.

你們nǐmen在zài看kàn我們wǒmen嗎ma？ 你们nǐmen在zài看kàn我们wǒmen吗ma？
You are looking at us?

• Pronouns in Chinese 2 (HSK 2)