Pronouns in Chinese 2

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.

It

牠tā它tā it (for animal)	牠的tāde它的tāde its (for animal)	牠tā它tā it (for animal)
祂tā祂tā it (for God)	祂的tāde祂的tāde its (for God)	祂tā祂tā it (for God)
它們tāmen它们tāmen they	它們的tāmende它们的tāmende their	它們tāmen它们tāmen them

我wǒ家jiā有yǒu貓māo有yǒu狗gǒu， 牠們tuómen都dōu是shì我的wǒde好hǎo朋友péngyǒu我wǒ家jiā有yǒu猫māo有yǒu狗gǒu， 它们tāmen都dōu是shì我的wǒde好hǎo朋友péngyou
I have both cats and dogs at home, and they are all my good friends.

祂tā是shì神shén祂tā是shì神shén
He is God. (Note: In Chinese, the pronoun “祂 tā” is used to refer to God instead of the “he” or “she”.)

We

The main difference between 我們们 wǒmen and 咱 zán is the level of formality and the sense of inclusiveness.

我們们 wǒmen is a pronoun that means “we” or “us” in Mandarin Chinese. It is a more formal and polite way to refer to a group of people that includes both the speaker and the listener, as well as other people.

咱 zán is a colloquial and less formal pronoun that also means “we” or “us” in Chinese. However, it has a more inclusive and informal tone, and it is often used to refer to a group of people that includes the speaker and the listener, but not necessarily others.

咱zán咱zán we

咱的zánde咱的zánde our

咱zán咱zán us

咱zán一起yìqǐ走zǒu吧ba！ 咱zán一起yìqǐ走zǒu吧ba！
Let’s go together!

那nà東西dōngxī是shì咱的zánde吧ba？ 那nà东西dōngxi是shì咱的zánde吧ba？
That thing is ours, right?

Reflexive Pronouns

The reflexive pronoun in Chinese is also very easy – just add 自己 zìjǐ

我wǒ我wǒ I	我自己wǒzìjǐ我自己wǒzìjǐ myself
你nǐ你nǐ you	你自己nǐzìjǐ你自己nǐzìjǐ yourself
他tā他tā he	他自己tāzìjǐ他自己tāzìjǐ himself
她tā她tā her	她自己tāzìjǐ她自己tāzìjǐ herself
它tā它tā it	它自己tāzìjǐ它自己tāzìjǐ itself
我們wǒmen我们wǒmen we	我們自己wǒmenzìjǐ我们自己wǒmenzìjǐ ourselves
你們nǐmen你们nǐmen you (plural)	你們自己nǐmenzìjǐ你们自己nǐmenzìjǐ yourselves
他們tāmen他们tāmen they	他們自己tāmenzìjǐ他们自己tāmenzìjǐ themselves

我自己wǒzìjǐ的de工作gōngzuò我自己wǒzìjǐ做zuò我自己wǒzìjǐ的de工作gōngzuò我自己wǒzìjǐ做zuò
I’ll do my own work by myself.

他們自己tāmenzìjǐ在zài家jiā做zuò飯fàn他们自己tāmenzìjǐ在zài家jiā做zuò饭fàn
They cook at home by themselves.

你自己nǐzìjǐ說shuō的de話huà還hái記得jìdé嗎ma？ 你自己nǐzìjǐ说shuō的de话huà还hái记得jìdé吗ma？
Do you remember what you said yourself.

Others

Everyone: 大家dàjiā大家dàjiā

Other people: 別人biérén别人biérén

大家dàjiā一起yìqǐ唱歌chànggē吧ba！ 大家dàjiā一起yìqǐ唱歌chànggē吧ba！
Let’s sing together!

別人biérén想xiǎng什麼shénme不bù重要zhòngyào别人biérén想xiǎng什么shénme不bù重要zhòngyào
What others think is not important.

你nǐ喜歡xǐhuān， 別人biérén不一定bùyídìng也yě喜歡xǐhuān你nǐ喜欢xǐhuan， 别人biérén不一定bùyídìng也yě喜欢xǐhuan
You like it, but others may not necessarily like it.

• Pronouns in Chinese 1 (HSK 1)