Chinese Pronouns

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.

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 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

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.

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.

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｡