Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives: This, That, These, Those, This One, That One

This, That, These, Those are Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns or Demonstrative Adjectives as they suggest a relative distance or time based on individual perception of what is near and what is far.

The thing that is comparatively nearer from another object is this 这 or these 这些. What is further away or relatively distant from the compared target is that 那 or those 那些.

• 个 Gè can refer to a singular noun for This one 这个 and That one 那个. We can also use it as a Measure Word – This person 这个人.
• 些 Xiē is a plural form and means some, few or several.

In this lesson, we will look into the aspect of using the Demonstrative Pronouns and Demonstrative Adjectives in the sentences. The Chinese Demonstratives are quite similar to English so you will have an easier time understanding them.

How to Say “Not This Time” in Chinese Mandarin?

How do you reject someone when you are not available for the invitation? How to say “not this time” in Chinese Mandarin? Next time? The following reply is a native method of rejecting.

Rest assured that when you say next time, “I will surely go”, it is not a promise. It is a polite and formal way of showing your appreciation when receiving an invitation.

Chinese people are known for giving polite excuses. However, they may not necessarily mean what they say as compared to the Westerners who are more frank and direct.

Chinese Demonstrative Adjectives

Chinese Demonstrative Adjective / Determiner is placed before a noun and is a modifier. For singular demonstratives (this/that), use it with a Chinese Measure Word before the noun. Omit the Measure Word in plural form (these/those).

Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns

Questions about THINGS

Let’s start with some questions where you want to know some unidentified objects. It is where you apply the Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns. If the quantity is unknown to you, it does not matter whether you use the singular or plural question. They are all correct (since they are anonymous right?).

However, if the object is right in front of you, use this or these when asking questions and not the other pair of words.

Answers about THINGS

Since the questions are using the Chinese Pronouns Verb To Be – 是 Shì, reply with the same Chinese Demonstrative Pronoun.

From Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns to Adverbs: Here and There

We will go a bit further to modify the Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns from

• “This is 这是 Zhè shì” and “That is 那是 Nà shì”

to become Chinese Adverbs –

• “Here 这里 Zhèlǐ” and “There 那里 Nàlǐ”.

Locational Preposition 在 Zài in Adverbs

在 Zài is a Chinese locational preposition which means “at/in“. Although the English sentences above do not require a preposition for location, we still place the word 在 Zài before the adverb “Here 这里” and “There 那里”.

Make a comparison to the 4 sentences above. What has changed? Notice that the word order has changed. Now, the Chinese Possessive Determiners and the nouns begin at the start of the sentences. The Chinese Adverbs will move to the end of the sentences.

Questions about PEOPLE

It is worth noting that when you ask questions with What in Chinese – 什么 Shén me (这是什么?), it is only referring to things and not people. For people, use:-

这个/ 些是什么人？may sound rude as many Chinese people use this sentence with an irritating tone when they are not happy to see somebody or feel suspicious of them.

Alternatively, it is better to use an Interrogative Pronoun – Who 谁 Shéi together with the Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns to ask questions relating to people.

Answers about PEOPLE

Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns Replacing Nouns and Phrases

A primary function of the Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns is to replace nouns or noun phrases that have been previously mentioned in a conversation to avoid repetition.

Hence, the 4 Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns acts as a contracted form of replacement similar to English. The Singular Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns can also mean “it” in English.

The underlined words below are illustrations of noun/noun phrase replaced by Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns. The next consideration is to replace with “this/these” or “that/those”. Apply the same concept of relative distance in your mind.

Use “This / These” Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns as Replacements When…

A subject has just been mentioned. You continue to elaborate OR give a reply to the same thing or person without repeating the noun phrase.

Use “That / Those” Chinese Demonstrative Pronouns as Replacements When…

• An incident took place long ago.
• A concept that has not happened;
• A wish or presumption of a statement that is perhaps unattainable.

Figurative Distance Where “This” or “That” Can Be Used

For the first sentence below, if you are riding a bicycle at that moment, you would mention “this” – 这是我的最爱 to stress your liking at that point. If you are just talking to someone, using “that” might imply that the interest was in the past.

Conclusion

You do not have to be too bothered whether you are using the correct term to replace a noun or noun phrase. Using this, these, that, those are merely a concept of thinking and suggests a figurative distance of the state of thought rather than a Chinese grammar.

How to Say “Personal” and “Individual” in Chinese? Geren 个人 in Mandarin

个人 Gè rén stands for an individual, but it also represents the word ‘personally’ or ‘personal’ depending on the formation of the English sentence.

When 个人 Gè rén comes after a Subject Pronoun (I, you, he, she, we etc.), it stresses on the personal opinion of an individual and showcases individualism.

Out of the sentences below, you can omit the word 个人 Gè rén from the first five sentences since they are only adjectives and use as a supplementary.

For the last sentence, you cannot drop the word 个人 Gè rén because it has become a noun. The sentence structure will not be complete without it.

Noun Phrase – Ge Ren

When 个人 Gè rén becomes a descriptive word necessary to describe a noun as a phrase, you cannot omit the word too. Examples are individualism 个人主义, personal data 个人资料 and personal privacy 个人隐私.

*On a side note, the word 每个人 also means ‘everybody’.

Also read similar article on How to Say “Personally” in Chinese with 亲自 Qinzi, 亲手 Qinshou & 亲身 Qinshen? The terms mean to handle a matter personally or first-hand experience on a situation.

How to Use “Personally” in Chinese?  Qinzi 亲自, Qinshou 亲手 and Qinshen 亲身 in Mandarin

What is the difference between 亲自 Qīnzì, 亲手 Qīnshǒu and 亲身 Qīnshēn? We are going to bring you to a higher level by expressing your sentiment with the use of ‘personally and individual’ after I have explained a set of Chinese Pronouns in detail.

亲自 Qīnzì, 亲手 Qīnshǒu and 亲身 Qīnshēn mean ‘personally’ but they have some difference when it comes to deploying them in Chinese sentences. They emphasise on ‘self’, highlighting the person who attends to the task.

Sometimes, they can have a “wow” effect to signify surprises that the person is attending to the matter personally himself. Moreover, they could have a meaning of feeling pleased, honoured and special.

亲自, 亲手 and 亲身 can be used to express formality in appreciating someone. In such instances, the word can be omitted and does not affect the Chinese grammar in any way.

Many of the sentences with 亲自 Qīnzì, 亲手 Qīnshǒu and 亲身 Qīnshēn can be replaced by 自己 | Zìjǐ (oneself/myself) too.

How to Use “亲自 Qinzì” in Chinese?

亲自 Qīnzì means to attend to a matter personally or in person. There are two Chinese proverbs relating to the word 亲自 Qīnzì – 亲自动手 and 亲自出马. 亲自出马 means literally ‘to take/ride a horse personally’.

The Chinese proverb started in Chinese history when people of importance took the lead personally during wartime when they do not have to do it themselves. Hence, it is a motivating factor to the subordinates in confronting the enemies.

In the modern context, it might not necessarily mean to have the same kind of positive influence but solely refers to take charge of an affair even when it does not fall under his responsibility.

The same interpretation goes to 亲自动手, literally means ‘to move your own hands’. That is to say ‘to do the job personally’.

How to Use “亲手 Qīnshǒu” in Chinese?

手 means hands. So, you can guess from the meaning that it is a contracted form of the Chinese proverbs 亲自动手. 亲手 Qīnshǒu indicates that someone makes something with his own hands and not through others. Figuratively, it also denotes ‘handling the matter personally’.

How to Use “亲身 Qīnshēn” in Chinese?

When talking about a life experience personally or first-hand account, we use 亲身 Qīnshēn. The keyword to pay attention when using 亲身 Qīnshēn is “personal life experience”.

It can be used to express extreme feelings like euphoric, traumatic or unforgettable experiences that might not be experienced by others.

亲身 frequently goes with 体验, 经历, 体会 and 感受 as a group phrase most of the time. The first three are experiences whereas the fourth one indicates feeling. 亲身 has the most distinguishable usage as compared to the first two.

How to say “Don’t Take it Personally to Heart” in Chinese?

When consoling someone in English, we often say “don’t take it personally” or “don’t take it to heart” which means ‘no offence’ when one says the wrong things. In the Chinese language, you can also use the same expression to advise someone.

Well, nothing to do with all the three Chinese terms learnt above! Just an extra piece of information for you because the English word uses “Personally. You may like to continue reading How to Use “Personal” and “Individual” in Chinese with 个人 Geren to showcase your individualism.

Chinese Reflexive Pronouns

Myself in Chinese – 自己 Ziji, 本身 Ben Shen and 本人 Ben Ren

In Mandarin, there are also Chinese Reflexive Pronouns – 自己 Zìjǐ, 本身 Běnshēn and 本人 Běnrén. They mean self, oneself, itself or rather, myself in Chinese.

In many cases, adding Chinese Reflexive Pronoun 自己 Zìjǐ is necessary to form a complete sentence such as “Protect yourself – 保护自己. In other contexts, the additional word of 自己 Zìjǐ is to emphasise on the subject mentioned.

In short, the word 自己 can also be made redundant in the sentences and still be correct after all － 我自己都不想去，怎么会叫他去? | I, myself do not want to go, why would I want him to go?

We can substitute the word 自己 Zìjǐ with the term 本身 Běnshēn in some sentences. There are exceptions where words which are reflexive by nature, such as “Protect yourself | 保护自己” is not replaceable by “本身“. In summary, we do not say “保护本身” because it is the wrong use of the reflexive verb.

The table below will show you a generic placement of the words after the Subject Pronouns.

Table of English Reflexive Pronouns List

Table of Chinese Reflexive Pronouns List

Chinese Reflexive Pronouns with Ziji 自己

Here are some Chinese Reflexive Pronouns with 自己 Zìjǐ that are very commonly used by the Chinese people when giving advises to others or as a reminder to oneself.

Chinese Reflexive Pronouns with 自己 Ziji or 本身 Ben Shen

The sentences below can use either自己 Zìjǐ, 本身 Běnshēn or both at the same time to further strengthen the emphasis of oneself. This interchanging of both the word order position is possible only when they come directly after the pronouns or the subject.

*In such sentence construction, the Chinese reflexive pronouns can be dropped too. Grammatically, it is correct since the Chinese Reflexive Pronouns only act as a supplemental emphasis on the mentioned subject.

Bear in mind that both the pronouns are not in a fixed position. The words can be split up into a sentence most of the times. The next section will demonstrate this.

Chinese Reflexive Pronouns with 自己 Ziji  + Action Verb

When the Chinese Reflexive Pronouns have placed away from the Subject/Subject Pronouns (unlike the above) and accompanied by an action verb, the placement of自己Zìjǐ becomes mandatory in the Chinese sentence to form a complete sentence.

From the sentences below, we do not use 本身Běnshēn as a substitute for 自己 Zìjǐ as it is not correct. On the contrary, there are many instances where 本身 could be used to replace 自己. I would say it takes some time for one to figure out at a higher Chinese level when we should deploy 本身 in the right sense.

Notice that the last sentence above uses both the two terms together? It is also very commonly used by the Chinese to highlight the point of “oneself”.

自己 Ziji  = Own / Possession

When making references to self-possession with the English word “own +_(noun)_“, 自己 Zìjǐ is used often with the word “的 de” after it, then followed by a noun. For such examples, do not use “本身 Běnshēn” because the word does not mean “own”.

The importance of “的 de” also expresses other forms of possession such as the use of ‘My _(noun)_’ and ‘Mine’. Read more about Possessive Determiners and Possessive Pronouns with “De 的”.

The last sentence above is an exception (without the use of 的 de) as it is a Chinese slang frequently used among the Chinese themselves to denote familiarity. It is more difficult to express it in English with the exact sentence except for a literal translation and for you to get a feel of it.

本身 Benshen and 自己 Ziji = Itself

As you can read from the first set of examples above, 本身 Běnshēn and 自己 Zìjǐ are not only for people but also to express non-living things and concepts as “itself“.

本人 Benren – Formal Word for Myself or Oneself

本人 | Běnrén is deemed as a more formal word for emphasising ‘oneself‘ or ‘myself‘ and not frequently heard in casual conversation. Some examples are situations where one is making a guarantee of something, reassurance or referring to someone of higher authority.

When one uses 本人 Běnrén, it gives individuality or perhaps, a feeling of isolation while trying to assert one’s point of view. It is best to avoid using this word for Chinese beginner level if you are not sure how to deploy it correctly.

When expressed in the wrong situation, it might create a sense of overestimation of oneself and can sound awkward. Imagine saying the sentence with 本人 Běnrén to your supervisor or boss, he might wonder who has a higher authority? You or him?

Similar to the Chinese Reflexive Pronouns, the next post will show you the use of “Personally and Individually – 亲自 qin zi，亲手 qin shou，亲身 qin shen and 个人 ge ren“.

Use of Chinese Possessive Pronouns vs Possessive Determiners

Chinese Possessive Pronouns (Mine) and Possessive Determiners (My), also known as Possessive Adjectives are not the same, even though both terms demonstrate ownership. Both use the Chinese Pronouns + 的 | De in a different placement in Mandarin. Just pay attention to the sentence construction and position of 的 | De.

*Do note that the Personal Pronouns below can be replaced by other subjects such as a person’s name, an animal, an object etc.

Take a look below at both the Table of the English Possessive Terms vs Chinese Possessive Pronouns and Determiner.

Table of English Possessive Term List

Table of Chinese Possessive Term List

I hope the table above gives you a clearer picture of how to form a Chinese sentence with 的 | de which is a neutral tone in Chinese Pinyin. The underscore ( __ ) represents nouns.

Chinese Possessive Determiners with 的 De

The word 的｜de will come after the pronoun and before a noun. Although this is the standard ‘formula’ of using a Chinese Possessive Determiner, you will see and hear for yourself that it is common for the Chinese people to drop the de when they speak. In many instances, it sounds correct.

Do not be too bothered whether the 的｜de should be dropped because it will come naturally to you later. In the meanwhile, learn the standard way of Chinese by adding 的 into your Possessive Determiner sentence, so that you will always be correct when you express yourself in words or writing.

Chinese Possessive Pronouns with 的 De

The Chinese Possessive Pronouns have nouns (or none) placed in front of the Personal Pronouns, followed by a 的｜de and then a full-stop.

The Chinese Possessive Pronouns placement is typically at the end of the sentence like the English sentence – Eg. It is mine | 这是我的. The 的 of such a construction is not dropped unlike the Chinese Possessive Determiner above. If you omit out 的, the sentence will be incomplete.

The English ‘verb to be‘ – am, are, is | 是 | shì has a bracket in it which means that it can be omitted out or replaced depending on the Chinese sentence construction.

For the above example, 这是我的, you cannot omit the 是 from it too. Otherwise, the sentence is not correct. Most of the times, the Chinese Possessive Pronouns will have a 是 | shì before the nouns.

Sentences – Chinese Possessive Pronouns vs Possessive Determiners

Enough of the theory. Let’s take a look at the Chinese sentence examples of both.

Note: The sentence will be marked with (D) and (P) which stands for Possessive Determiner and Possessive Pronoun respectively so you can make a comparison in a more complicated sentence.

From Possessive Determiner to Possessive Pronoun

When a noun has been mentioned once in Possessive Determiners, you can drop it from the subordinate clause and turn it into a Possessive Pronoun. You can relate such a sentence construction like a direct English translation. Look at the two sets of examples below.

Chinese Possessive Pronouns Sentences

When I wrote the sentences below, it reminded me that I used to tell my boyfriend in a joking manner – “What is mine is mine, what is yours is mine“.

It seemed that this ‘joke’, or maybe a fact for some, is exclusively used by the Chinese women on their husbands. Perhaps, we are brainwashed by some relationship value that a man should be the lead and provide for the family. Traditional, indeed.

Omission of 的 De from Chinese Possessive Determiners

Here is another set of examples where the particle 的 is omitted from the Possessive Determiner sentences, and still deemed as correct. The de omission method is used when describing people who are closed to you such as your family members and friends.

It stemmed probably out of convenience over time and frequently in colloquial speech with singular pronouns till it becomes acceptable. With or without 的, it does not matter much as long as it does not sound strange to us.

Chinese Personal Pronouns: Subject vs Object Pronouns (I vs Me)

Chinese Personal Pronouns are words that comprise of “I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, you, him, her, us, and them”. They are divided into two categories – Subject Pronouns and Object Pronouns. In English is “I vs Me” whereas, in Chinese, it is “我 vs 我”. Confusing?

In the first article, we introduce the use of Chinese Subject Pronouns together with the English verb to be and verb to have, followed by Asking Questions in Chinese with 吗｜Ma. The verbs used would be familiar for English speakers to relate and learn the Chinese grammars more easily.

Mandarin Personal Pronouns List

Now, we are going to take a step further to include the Object Pronouns (me) with the Subject Pronouns (I) to have a deeper understanding of the use of Personal Pronouns. Also, we will compare similar contextual sentences inter-changing their positions from the phrasal construction.

Learning the Chinese Personal Pronouns is the most fundamental grammar structures for beginners. Refer to the two tables below in English and Chinese for an overview of the Subject and Object Pronouns.

English Personal Pronouns List

Chinese Personal Pronouns List

You can see that the Subject Pronouns and the Object Pronouns have the same Chinese characters which might be confusing to some people. If you need audio, you can refer to this link – Chinese Pronouns Pinyin.

Simple Sentences with Chinese Personal Pronouns

(S) = Subject Pronoun
(O) = Object Pronoun

Replacing Nouns and Names with Chinese Personal Pronouns

The examples below demonstrate how you can replace the nouns to Subject and Object Pronouns.

Chinese Imperative Sentences with Object Pronouns

Imperative sentences are when you are giving instruction or an order to someone. Likewise in the same instances when constructing Chinese sentences, you do not have to use the subject pronouns but only the object pronouns.

The last Chinese sentence above is similar to English construction using two object pronouns.

Questions and Answers with Chinese Personal Pronouns

Triple Chinese Personal Pronouns

Here are three personal pronouns used in Chinese sentence constructions. Either:-

1. Two Subject Pronouns and one Object Pronoun or
2. Two Object Pronouns and one Subject Pronoun.

They are constructed similarly like a direct English translation which might be familiar to you.

Active and Passive Sentences

From Active Voice sentence construction to Passive Voice sentence construction with Chinese Personal Pronouns. The third example is using the Chinese word 被 bèi which is common when constructing passive sentences.

A: Active Voice
P: Passive Voice

Next Lesson on Chinese Possessive Terms

Check out the next lesson on Chinese Possessive Pronouns vs Possessive Determiners (Mine vs My) with “的 De”. Learn how to distinguish the two by having different placements of the nouns.

How to Ask Questions in Chinese?

吗 | Ma in Chinese Questions

Asking questions in Chinese with personal pronouns is easy. 吗 | Ma in Chinese placed at the end of a sentence always indicate that it is a question, followed by a question mark. 吗 Ma is a neutral tone and should be pronounced gently.

Using some simple sentence constructions from the previous lesson on Chinese Pronouns, we will add the ma | 吗 to the end of an answer, and turn it into a question in Mandarin instantly.

We will continue to use the English equivalent verb to BE (I am) and verb to HAVE (I have) for the below question construction by making use of all the Pronouns.

Back to basic English on a quick recap:
BE: I am, He is, She is, It is, We are, You are, They are
HAVE: I have, He has, She has, It has, We have, You have, They have

General Reply

• Yes – 是, 是的
• No – 不是, 不是的

*For all the below, the first sentence is always a question, followed by the answer(s).

Affirmative Questions in Chinese

Pronouns + BE 是 + Information + 吗 Ma

Pronouns + HAVE 有 + Information + 吗 Ma

The above formula is equivalent to the questions in Chinese “Do you have ___?” The second-word 啊 and 的above are used as an expression or slang to emphasise or soften the effect in this context. To say with or without the 啊 and 的 when replying yes or no questions in Chinese are not crucial.

General Reply

Yes, have – 有, 有啊
No, don’t have –没有, 没有啊

For the last two negative answers from the questions in Chinese above, it is also common to drop the 有 from 没有 before a noun. Both are correct.

他们没钱买房子 vs 他们没有钱买房子
他们没问题问您 vs 他们没有问题问您

Affirmative-Negative Questions in Chinese

For affirmative-negative questions in Chinese, expect to get an affirmed reply for yes or no, correct or not correct response. One main difference compared to the question construction above is that in Affirmative-Negative Questions, you say it without the ma 吗 at the end of the sentence.

Chinese Pronouns + BE 是 + 不 + 是 BE + Info

*The yes reply to the last sentence is a confirmation to a negative question and vice versa. Therefore, it is a bit tricky.

Pronouns + HAVE 有 + 没 + 有 HAVE + Info

By answering positively “have” in the last sentence of the questions in Chinese, you are affirming to the negation asked.

Negative Questions in Chinese

If you are a beginner just starting to learn Chinese, it is advisable to avoid using negative-sentence construction when asking your questions in Chinese. It might confuse you and others if the question asked is ambiguous and does not fit into the context or when you construct questions in Chinese inaccurately.

It is worse when someone just replies you a yes or no answer to a negative question without elaborating on the reply. Then, you might doubt the meaning of the response if the person truly understands what you want to express. Try to avoid it unless you already have a good grasp of the Chinese language.

The ambiguity can be avoided by not giving only a yes or no answer. Provide more details to such questions in Chinese. The problem of misinterpreting negative-questions does not occur merely in the Chinese language, but also in English sentences.

One such example provided in an English forum with the question “Don’t you have money?” The person asking wanted to find out if a positive reply will lead to what kind of connotation for others. That is:-

• Yes, I have the money. Or,
• Yes, I have no money.

It is hardly a surprise when different people have a different meaning to the yes and no answer. The same goes for the Chinese language. If a question is ambiguous and set other people wondering about its meaning, then it is best to avoid giving a yes and no answer.

Unfortunately, negative-questions are commonly employed in sentences when it comes to speaking and writing to stress the point.

Pronouns + (Negative Word) BE 不是 + Info + 吗  Ma

Pronouns + (Negative Word) HAVE 没有 + Info + 吗 Ma

Summary and Comparison – Questions in Chinese

Now, we place three similar questions on a table of questions in Chinese of what you have learnt this lesson. You can compare the difference in how we can ask the same question in three ways.

1. Affirmative Questions
2. Negative Questions
3. Affirmative-Negative Questions

Quick Summary:-

• Add 吗 ma to the first two sentences – affirmative and negative questions.
• Do not add 吗 ma to the construction of the affirmative-negative questions.

Chinese Pronouns: Verb to Be and Verb to Have in Mandarin

We learn the Chinese Pronouns in singular and plural forms together with the English verb to be and verb to have as an elemental start to learning the Chinese language. Once you know the fundamental “BE 是” and the “HAVE 有” words to use together with the Chinese Pronouns, you can start forming a few Chinese sentences about yourself and other people after this lesson.

The definition of personal pronouns are as follow: –

I, You, He, She, It, We, They, Me, Him, Her, Us and Them

Singular Chinese Pronouns

“I” in Chinese: 我 Wǒ Mandarin

The Chinese Pronouns must be the first few characters that you learn especially 我 Wǒ Chinese which means “I” in English. You will see later how we develop 我 Wǒ Chinese and other Chinese Personal Pronouns into Chinese Possessive Pronouns and Chinese Reflexive Pronouns which are English equivalent.

You in Chinese: 您 Nín (Formal) and 你 Nǐ Mandarin

Similar to some European languages such as French and Dutch (but not English), the You in Chinese carries two different forms. One is a standard Chinese pronoun 你 Nǐ. The other 您 Nín is a more polite way of addressing someone who is older, more senior in authority or one whom you do not know.

He, She, It in Chinese: 他，她，它 | Tā Mandarin

Next, comes the third-person singular in Chinese. One single Chinese Pinyin with the same tone, Tā, has 3 Chinese characters which are 他，她，它.

Plural Chinese Pronouns

We in Chinese: 我们 Wǒmen Mandarin

The Chinese plural for all personal pronouns is rather easy to learn and recognise. Add the Chinese character 们 men to all the singular Chinese pronouns above to become plural. 我 Wǒ will thus become 我们 Wǒmen.

The Pinyin 们 men is a neutral tone with no accent mark on the Chinese vowel.

Formal You in Mandarin: 您们 Nínmen

It is worth noting that the formal singular You in Mandarin 您 Nín does not carry a plural form 您们 Nínmen. If you want to express politeness referring to a few people at the same time, here are some alternatives.

Plural You in Chinese: 你们 Nǐmen

If you are a Chinese beginner, you may wish to avoid using the “You formal” plural term if it confuses you. Stick to the “traditional You” below.

They in Chinese: 他们，她们，它们 | Tāmen

Similarly, add a 们 Men behind the three Tā – 他，她，它. For a mixed-gender group, always use 他们 as the Chinese plural. 她们 is only for a group of females.

Chinese Pronouns List

The table is a summary of the Chinese Pronouns list.

Plural for Other Terms

The usage of the plural 们 Men is not only for Chinese Pronouns but also for other groups. The Chinese Pronouns list are a few examples and non-exhaustive.

Chinese Pronouns Sentences with BE and HAVE

Gender – Man and Woman in Chinese

This question is weird (and perhaps rude) to ask someone that you can see, isn’t it? If you cannot see a person and want to know a person’s gender over an email or social media platform, this would be the question to ask.

Another instance is when someone is pregnant or just given birth, and you want to find out the baby’s gender. Therefore, you ask “Is it a boy or a girl? 是男的还是女的？Shì nán de háishì nǚ de?”

Chinese Pronouns + Verb to BE 是 Shì

(I am, He is, She is, It is, We are, You are, They are)

The English Verb to Be in Chinese is 是 Shì. The negation Chinese word is 不是 Bùshì.

Chinese Pronouns + Verb to HAVE 有 Yǒu

(I have, He has, She has, It has, We have, You have, They have)

The English Verb to Have in Chinese is 有 Yǒu. The negation Chinese word is 没有 Méiyǒu.

Next Lesson on Asking Questions with Chinese Pronouns + BE and HAVE

Learn to ask simple questions in Chinese with Affirmative Questions, Negative Questions and Affirmative-Negative Questions using the Chinese Pronouns with BE and HAVE in this lesson.