\tThere 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.<\/p>\n
\tBASIC PRONOUNS
\tThese are the pronouns of written Mandarin Chinese.<\/p>\n
\tI, me: w\u01d2: \u6211
\tYou: n\u01d0 – \u4f60
\tYou (formal): nín: \u60a8
\tHe, Him: t\u0101: \u4ed6
\tShe, Her: t\u0101: \u5979
\tIt: t\u0101: \u5b83
\tYou'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 \u60a8 (nín) instead of the less formal \u4f60 (n\u01d0).<\/p>\n
\tWhile 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 \u4ed6 \/ \u5979 \/ \u5b83 are all pronounced the same, t\u0101.<\/p>\n
\tPLURALS
\tPlurals are formed by adding \u5011 (traditional form) \/ \u4eec (simplified form) at the end of a basic pronoun. This character is pronounced "men." See below:<\/p>\n
\tWe, Us: w\u01d2 men: \u6211\u5011 \/ \u6211\u4eec
\tYou (plural): n\u01d0 men: \u4f60\u5011 \/ \u4f60\u4eec
\tThey, Them: t\u0101 men: \u4ed6\u5011 \/ \u4ed6\u4eec
\tDIFFERENTIATING GENDER
\tAs discussed earlier, gender differentiating pronouns like "he", "she", and "it" all have the same sound, t\u0101, but different written characters.<\/p>\n
\tIn 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.<\/p>\n
\tREFLEXIVE PRONOUN
\tMandarin Chinese also has a reflexive pronoun \u81ea\u5df1 (zì j\u01d0). This is used when both subject and object are the same.<\/p>\n
\tFor example:<\/p>\n
\tT\u0101 x\u01d0 huàn t\u0101 zì j\u01d0
\t\u4ed6\u559c\u6b22\u4ed6\u81ea\u5df1 \/ \u4ed6\u559c\u6b61\u4ed6\u81ea\u5df1
\tHe likes himself.<\/p>\n
\t\u81ea\u5df1 (zì j\u01d0) can also be used directly after a noun or pronoun to intensify the subject. For example:<\/p>\n
\tW\u01d2 zì j\u01d0 x\u01d0 huàn.
\t\u6211\u81ea\u5df1\u559c\u6b22 \/ \u6211\u81ea\u5df1\u559c\u6b61
\tI, myself, like it.
\tSENTENCE EXAMPLES USING CHINESE PRONOUNS
\tHere are some sentences using pronouns. See if you can use these examples as a guide or template to creating your own sentences.<\/p>\n
\tAudio files are marked with \u25ba<\/p>\n
\tW\u01d2: \u6211<\/p>\n
\tI am a student.
\t\u25baW\u01d2 shì xuésh\u0113ng.\u200b
\t\u6211\u662f\u5b78\u751f\uff61 (traditional)
\t\u6211\u5b66\u751f\uff61 \u200b(simplified)<\/p>\n
\tI like ice cream.
\t\u25baW\u01d2 x\u01d0hu\u0101n b\u012bngqílín.
\t\u6211\u559c\u6b61\u51b0\u6dc7\u6dcb\uff61
\t\u6211\u559c\u6b22\u51b0\u6dc7\u6dcb\uff61<\/p>\n
\tI don’t have a bicycle.
\t\u25baW\u01d2 méi y\u01d2u ji\u01ceotàch\u0113.
\t\u6211\u6c92\u6709\u8173\u8e0f\u8eca\uff61
\t\u6211\u6ca1\u6709\u811a\u8e0f\u8f66\uff61
\tN\u01d0: \u4f60<\/p>\n
\tAre you a student?
\t\u25baN\u01d0 shì xuésh\u0113ng ma?
\t\u4f60\u662f\u5b78\u751f\u55ce?
\t\u4f60\u662f\u5b66\u751f\u5417?<\/p>\n
\tDo you like ice cream?
\t\u25baN\u01d0 x\u01d0huan b\u012bngqílín ma?
\t\u4f60\u559c\u6b61\u51b0\u6dc7\u6dcb\u55ce?
\t\u4f60\u559c\u6b22\u51b0\u6dc7\u6dcb\u5417?<\/p>\n
\tDo you have a bicycle?
\t\u25baN\u01d0 y\u01d2u ji\u01ceotàch\u0113 ma?
\t\u4f60\u6709\u8173\u8e0f\u8eca\u55ce?
\t\u4f60\u6709\u811a\u8e0f\u8f66\u5417?
\tT\u0101: \u5979<\/p>\n
\tShe is a doctor.
\t\u25baT\u0101 shì y\u012bsh\u0113ng.
\t\u5979\u662f\u91ab\u751f\uff61
\t\u5979\u662f\u533b\u751f\uff61<\/p>\n
\tShe likes coffee.
\t\u25baT\u0101 x\u01d0huan k\u0101f\u0113i.
\t\u5979\u559c\u6b61\u5496\u5561\uff61
\t\u5979\u559c\u6b22\u5496\u5561\uff61<\/p>\n
\tShe doesn’t have a car.
\t\u25baT\u0101 méi y\u01d2u ch\u0113.
\t\u5979\u6c92\u6709\u8eca\uff61
\t\u5979\u6ca1\u6709\u8f66\uff61
\tW\u01d2 men: \u6211\u5011 \/ \u6211\u4eec<\/p>\n
\tWe are students.
\t\u25baW\u01d2men shì xuésh\u0113ng.
\t\u6211\u5011\u662f\u5b78\u751f\uff61
\t\u6211\u4eec\u662f\u5b66\u751f\uff61<\/p>\n
\tWe like ice cream.
\t\u25baW\u01d2men x\u01d0huan b\u012bngqílín.
\t\u6211\u5011\u559c\u6b61\u51b0\u6dc7\u6dcb\uff61
\t\u6211\u4eec\u559c\u6b22\u51b0\u6dc7\u6dcb\uff61<\/p>\n
\tWe don’t have a bicycle.
\t\u25baW\u01d2men méi y\u01d2u ji\u01ceotàch\u0113.
\t\u6211\u5011\u6c92\u6709\u8173\u8e0f\u8eca\uff61
\t\u6211\u4eec\u6ca1\u6709\u811a\u8e0f\u8f66\uff61
\tT\u0101 men: \u4ed6\u5011 \/ \u4ed6\u4eec<\/p>\n
\tThey are students.
\t\u25baT\u0101men shì xuésh\u0113ng.
\t\u4ed6\u5011\u662f\u5b78\u751f\uff61
\t\u4ed6\u4eec\u662f\u5b66\u751f\uff61<\/p>\n
\tThey like coffee.
\t\u25baT\u0101men x\u01d0huan k\u0101f\u0113i.
\t\u4ed6\u5011\u559c\u6b61\u5496\u5561\uff61
\t\u4ed6\u4eec\u559c\u6b22\u5496\u5561\uff61<\/p>\n
\tThey don’t have a car.
\t\u25baT\u0101men méi y\u01d2u ch\u0113.
\t\u4ed6\u5011\u6c92\u6709\u8eca\uff61
\t\u4ed6\u4eec\u6ca1\u6709\u8f66\uff61
\tZì j\u01d0: \u81ea\u5df1<\/p>\n
\tHe lives by himself.
\t\u25baT\u0101 zìj\u01d0 zhù.
\t\u4ed6\u81ea\u5df1\u4f4f\uff61<\/p>\n
\tI will go myself.
\t\u25baW\u01d2 zìj\u01d0 qù.
\t\u6211\u81ea\u5df1\u53bb\uff61 <\/p>\n