Languages › Mandarin Mandarin Chinese Pronouns Print JupiterImages / Getty Images Languages Mandarin History and Culture Pronunciation Vocabulary Understanding Chinese Characters By Qiu Gui Su Qiu Gui Su Chinese Language Expert Qiu Gui Su is a native Mandarin speaker who has taught Mandarin Chinese for over 20 years. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on December 13, 2019 There are just a few pronouns in Mandarin Chinese, and unlike many European languages, there are no subject / verb agreements to worry about. Just a few simple rules tell you everything you need to know about pronouns in Chinese. Basic Pronouns These are the pronouns of written Mandarin Chinese. I, me: wǒ: 我You: nǐ - 你You (formal): nín: 您 He, Him: tā: 他She, Her: tā: 她It: tā: 它 You'll notice that there are two ways of saying "you." When speaking to elders or someone in authority, it is more polite to address them formally with 您 (nín) instead of the less formal 你 (nǐ). While there are six pronouns listed above in written Mandarin, in spoken Mandarin it boils down to just three basic pronouns: I / me, you, he / she / it. This is because 他 / 她 / 它 are all pronounced the same, tā. Plurals Plurals are formed by adding 們 (traditional form) / 们 (simplified form) at the end of a basic pronoun. This character is pronounced "men." See below: We, Us: wǒ men: 我們 / 我们You (plural): nǐ men: 你們 / 你们They, Them: tā men: 他們 / 他们 Differentiating Gender Read More Learn to Say and Write "I" in Chinese By Qiu Gui Su As discussed earlier, gender differentiating pronouns like "he", "she", and "it" all have the same sound, tā, but different written characters. In spoken Mandarin, differentiating between genders is a little less obvious. However, the context of the sentence will usually tell you whether the speaker is referring to a man, a woman, or a thing. Reflexive Pronoun Mandarin Chinese also has a reflexive pronoun 自己 (zì jǐ). This is used when both subject and object are the same. For example: Tā xǐ huàn tā zì jǐ他喜欢他自己 / 他喜歡他自己He likes himself. 自己 (zì jǐ) can also be used directly after a noun or pronoun to intensify the subject. For example: Wǒ zì jǐ xǐ huàn.我自己喜欢 / 我自己喜歡I, myself, like it. Sentence Examples Using Chinese Pronouns Here are some sentences using pronouns. See if you can use these examples as a guide or template to creating your own sentences. Audio files are marked with ► Wǒ: 我 I am a student. ►Wǒ shì xuéshēng. 我是學生。 (traditional) 我学生。 (simplified) I like ice cream. ►Wǒ xǐhuān bīngqílín. 我喜歡冰淇淋。 我喜欢冰淇淋。 I don’t have a bicycle. ►Wǒ méi yǒu jiǎotàchē. 我沒有腳踏車。 我没有脚踏车。 Nǐ: 你 Are you a student? ►Nǐ shì xuéshēng ma? 你是學生嗎? 你是学生吗? Do you like ice cream? ►Nǐ xǐhuan bīngqílín ma? 你喜歡冰淇淋嗎? 你喜欢冰淇淋吗? Do you have a bicycle? ►Nǐ yǒu jiǎotàchē ma? 你有腳踏車嗎? 你有脚踏车吗? Tā: 她 She is a doctor. ►Tā shì yīshēng. 她是醫生。 她是医生。 She likes coffee. ►Tā xǐhuan kāfēi. 她喜歡咖啡。 她喜欢咖啡。 She doesn’t have a car. ►Tā méi yǒu chē. 她沒有車。 她没有车。 Wǒ men: 我們 / 我们 We are students. ►Wǒmen shì xuéshēng. 我們是學生。 我们是学生。 We like ice cream. ►Wǒmen xǐhuan bīngqílín. 我們喜歡冰淇淋。 我们喜欢冰淇淋。 We don’t have a bicycle. ►Wǒmen méi yǒu jiǎotàchē. 我們沒有腳踏車。 我们没有脚踏车。 Tā men: 他們 / 他们 They are students. ►Tāmen shì xuéshēng. 他們是學生。 他们是学生。 They like coffee. ►Tāmen xǐhuan kāfēi. 他們喜歡咖啡。 他们喜欢咖啡。 They don’t have a car. ►Tāmen méi yǒu chē. 他們沒有車。 他们没有车。 Zì jǐ: 自己 He lives by himself. ►Tā zìjǐ zhù. 他自己住。 I will go myself. ►Wǒ zìjǐ qù. 我自己去。 Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Su, Qiu Gui. "Mandarin Chinese Pronouns." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/mandarin-pronouns-2279477. Su, Qiu Gui. (2023, April 5). Mandarin Chinese Pronouns. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/mandarin-pronouns-2279477 Su, Qiu Gui. "Mandarin Chinese Pronouns." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/mandarin-pronouns-2279477 (accessed March 28, 2024). copy citation