Chinese Personal Pronouns 1我 wǒ, 你 nǐ, 您 nín, 他 tā, 她 tā, 它 tā, 我们 wǒmen, 你们 nǐmen, 他们 tāmen, 她们 tāmen, 它们 tāmen & 大家 dàjiā
Mandarin Chinese has a relatively small number of pronouns, and unlike many European languages, there is no need to worry about subject-verb agreement.
Three small building blocks do all the work: a base pronoun like 我 wǒ or 你 nǐ, 的 de to show that something belongs to someone, and 们 men to turn one person into a group.
1Quick Reference
Every personal pronoun in Chinese is built from one of these base words. Add 的 de to show ownership, and add 们 men to make it plural.
| Pronoun | Meaning | Possessive (+ 的 de) |
|---|---|---|
| 我 wǒ | I / me | 我的 wǒ de — my, mine |
| 你 nǐ | you | 你的 nǐ de — your, yours |
| 您 nín | you (polite) | 您的 nín de — your (polite) |
| 他 tā | he / him | 他的 tā de — his |
| 她 tā | she / her | 她的 tā de — her, hers |
| 它 tā | it | 它的 tā de — its |
| 我们 wǒmen | we / us | 我们的 wǒmen de — our, ours |
| 你们 nǐmen | you (plural) | 你们的 nǐmen de — your (plural) |
| 他们 tāmen | they / them | 他们的 tāmen de — their |
| 她们 tāmen | they / them (all female) | 她们的 tāmen de — their |
| 它们 tāmen | they / them (things, animals) | 它们的 tāmen de — their |
| 大家 dàjiā | everyone | 大家的 dàjiā de — everyone’s |
The same word works as both subject and object. 我 wǒ is “I” and also “me”; 他 tā is “he” and also “him”. The verb never changes either — there is no “I am / he is” agreement to worry about.
2I and You — 我 wǒ, 你 nǐ & 您 nín
There are two ways to say “you” in Chinese. When addressing elders or someone in authority — a teacher, a boss, a customer — it is more polite to use the formal 您 nín instead of the everyday 你 nǐ.
With family members and close relationships, 的 de is usually dropped: people say 我妈妈 wǒ māma rather than 我的妈妈 wǒ de māma.
In Taiwan you will also see a newer character, 妳 nǐ — “you” written with the woman radical 女 nǚ, used when talking to a woman. In Mainland China, 你 nǐ is used for everyone.
Originally, 你 nǐ and 他 tā simply referred to a person: the radical 亻 on the left is a form of 人 rén, “person”. In recent years, however, some people have started to read 亻 as meaning “male”, and feel that women therefore need a character with the woman radical — which is where 妳 nǐ comes in.
Personally, I see 亻 as simply meaning “person” — it doesn’t stand for men. So writing 你 nǐ to a woman is perfectly fine.
3He, She and It — 他 tā, 她 tā & 它 tā
All three are pronounced exactly the same: tā. You only see the difference in writing — 他 tā has the “person” radical, 她 tā has the “woman” radical, and 它 tā is used for things and animals.
When you don’t know the person’s gender, 他 tā is the default choice.
In Taiwan you will also see two more ways to write tā: 牠 tā for animals and 祂 tā for God or deities. In Mainland China, animals are simply 它 tā.
4We, You and They — add 们 men
Making a pronoun plural is easy: just add 们 men to the end — 我们 wǒmen, 你们 nǐmen, 他们 tāmen, 她们 tāmen, 它们 tāmen.
他们 tāmen is for a group of men, or any mixed group. 她们 tāmen is only for a group that is all female. 它们 tāmen is for things and animals.
5Everyone — 大家 dàjiā
大家 dàjiā means “everyone” or “all of you / all of us”. It’s already plural, so it never takes 们 men, and it often comes with 都 dōu (all).
6Common Mistakes
7Practice
Fill in the blank with the right pronoun, then tap the card to check your answer.
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