Languages 1001

title: Personal Pronouns in Chinese description: Meet the most important people in Chinese: the personal pronouns! level: HSK1 language: chinese type: fill

Let’s get personal! Personal pronouns are words we use to replace nouns and talk about ourselves, other people, or even *those guys over there*. In English, these are words like “I”, “you”, “he”, “she”, “we”, “they”, etc. Guess what? Chinese has them too – and they’re even easier!
Meet the Squad:

• 我 (wǒ) - I / me (If you’re reading this, this is you!)
• 你 (nǐ) - you (Talking to a friend, classmate, or your cat)
• 您 (nín) - you (polite, like talking to your boss, your grandma, or that stranger whose umbrella you just borrowed)
• 他 (tā) - he / him (Talking about the boys)
• 她 (tā) - she / her (Talking about the girls)
• 我们 (wǒmen) - we / us
• 你们 (nǐmen) - you (plural – for more than one “you”! Yes, English is jealous!)
• 他们 (tāmen) - they / them (for groups of guys or mixed groups)
• 她们 (tāmen) - they / them (for groups of girls)

Some Quick Sentences with Our Friends:

• 你好，我要两个本子。
  Nǐ hǎo, wǒ yào liǎng gè běnzi.
  Hello, I want two notebooks. (Say hi to the store clerk!)
• 您好！
  Nín hǎo!
  Hello! (Super respectful – Lili says this to Mr. Wang!)
• 他想喝水。
  Tā xiǎng hē shuǐ.
  He wants to drink water. (Maybe Haoran – thirsty as usual!)
• 她很高。
  Tā hěn gāo.
  She is tall. (Is that Xiaotong? Basketball star!)
• 我们去书店，你们去哪儿？
  Wǒmen qù shūdiàn, nǐmen qù nǎr?
  We’re going to the bookstore, where are you all going?
• 他们是学生。
  Tāmen shì xuéshēng.
  They are students. (Haoran and his pals!)
• 她们是我的同学。
  Tāmen shì wǒ de tóngxué.
  They are my classmates. (And the girls are ready to study!)

Fun Fact:
Chinese doesn’t have different words for “he” and “she” in pronunciation – both are “tā”! Only the character changes:

• 他 = he
• 她 = she
• 它 = it (For things and animals. Don’t call your friend 它, unless your friend is a particularly clever dog.)

Easy-peasy, right? Now, let’s put your pronoun powers to the test!

Lili says: 是张莉莉。(I am Lili Zhang.)

Mr. Wang is thirsty: 想喝水。(He wants to drink water.)

Lili and Xiaotong are sisters: 是姐妹。(We are sisters.)

Lili politely greets her boss: 好！(Hello! [polite])

When talking to a group: 去哪儿？(Where are you all going?)

Talking about a group of boys: 是学生。(They are students.)

Talking about a group of girls: 是我的同学。(They are my classmates.)

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