Pronouns In Mandarin Chinese: Beginner's Guide
Written byZoe Mei
Chinese pronouns work pretty much the same way as English and other languages.
One notable difference however is that the third person doesn't differentiate gender (only when written).
Below you'll find a list of all Chinese pronouns and their types.
These include:
- Personal Pronouns
- The Possessive Pronouns
- The Reflexive Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
These are the first pronouns you'll learn in any Mandarin Chinese course.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| I , me | 我 | wǒ |
| You (informal) | 你 | nǐ |
| You (polite) | 您 | nín |
| He, him | 他 | tā |
| she, her | 她 | tā |
| it | 它 | tā |
| we, us | 我们 | wǒmen |
| you (plural) | 你们 | nǐmen |
| they, them (mas) | 他们 | tāmen |
| they, them (fem) | 她们 | tāmen |
| they, them (neutral) | 它们 | tāmen |
Possessive Pronouns
This kind of pronouns has the same function in Chinese and English language. These pronouns are easy to make, you have to add 的 ("de"). There are some exceptions that are in literature.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| my | 我的 | wǒ de |
| your (informal) | 你的 | nǐ de |
| your (polite) | 您的 | nín de |
| his | 他的 | tā de |
| her | 她的 | tā de |
| it's | 它的 | tā de |
| our | 我们的 | wǒmen de |
| your (plural) | 你们的 | nǐmen de |
| their (mas) | 他们的 | tāmen de |
| their (fem) | 她们的 | tāmen de |
| their (neutral) | 它们的 | tāmen de |
Reflexive Pronouns
These pronouns have the same use as English reflexive pronouns. You can make these pronouns by appending 自己 ("zìjǐ") to the pronouns. These pronouns are only for humans.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| myself | 我自己 | wǒ zìjǐ |
| yourself (informal) | 你自己 | nǐ zìjǐ |
| yourself (polite) | 您自己 | nín zìjǐ |
| himself | 他自己 | tā zìjǐ |
| herself | 她自己 | tā zìjǐ |
| ourselves | 我们自己 | wǒmen zìjǐ |
| yourself (plural) | 你们自己 | nǐmen zìjǐ |
| themself (mas) | 自己 | zìjǐ |
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