Pronouns in Mandarin Chinese
Pronouns are words we use to replace nouns, like people or things, so we don’t have to repeat them. In Mandarin Chinese, pronouns are also important and used in daily conversation. This article will explain the basic types of pronouns in Chinese with easy examples.
1. Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns refer to people or things. Here are the basic personal pronouns in Mandarin:
| No | Personal Pronouns | Meaning | Examples in Sentences | |
| Character | Pinyin | |||
| Singular | ||||
| 1 | 我 | wǒ | I / Me | 我是学生。 Wǒ shì xuéshēng. I am a student. |
| 2 | 你 | nǐ | You | 你喜欢中国菜吗？ Nǐ xǐhuan Zhōngguó cài ma? Do you like Chinese food? |
| 3 | 他 | tā | He / Him | 他是老师。 Tā shì lǎoshī. He is a teacher. |
| 4 | 她 | tā | She / Her | 她很漂亮。 Tā hěn piàoliang. She is beautiful. |
| 5 | 它 | tā | It | 我喜欢这只猫，它很可爱。 Wǒ xǐhuan zhè zhī māo, tā hěn kě’ài. I like this cat. It is very cute. |
| Plural | ||||
| 1 | 我们 | wǒmen | We / Us | 我们学习汉语。 Wǒmen xuéxí Hànyǔ. We study Chinese. |
| 2 | 你们 | nǐmen | You | 你们今天晚上有空吗？ Nǐmen jīntiān wǎnshang yǒu kòng ma? Are you free tonight? |
| 3 | 他们 | tāmen | They (male or mixed group) | 他们在图书馆。 Tāmen zài túshūguǎn. They are at the library. |
| 4 | 她们 | tāmen | They (female) | 她们在教室里学习。 Tāmen zài jiàoshì lǐ xuéxí. They are studying in the classroom. |
| 5 | 它们 | tāmen | They (things/animals) | 这些书很有意思，我很喜欢它们。 Zhèxiē shū hěn yǒuyìsi, wǒ hěn xǐhuan tāmen. These books are very interesting. I really like them. |
2. Possessive Pronouns
In Chinese, to make a possessive pronoun (like my, your, his), just add “的” (de) after a personal pronoun.
| No | Possessive Pronouns | Meaning | Examples in Sentences | |
| Character | Pinyin | |||
| 1 | 我的 | wǒ de | My / Mine | 这是我的书。 Zhè shì wǒ de shū. This is my book. |
| 2 | 你的 | nǐ de | Your / Yours | 那是你的手机吗？ Nà shì nǐ de shǒujī ma? Is that your phone? |
| 3 | 他的 | tā de | His | 他的名字是王明。 Tā de míngzì shì Wáng Míng. His name is Wang Ming. |
| 4 | 她的 | tā de | Her | 这是她的书包。 Zhè shì tā de shūbāo. This is her backpack. |
| 5 | 我们的 | wǒmen de | Our / Ours | 我们的老师很友好。 Wǒmen de lǎoshī hěn yǒuhǎo. Our teacher is very friendly. |
| 6 | 他们的 | tāmen de | Their / Theirs | 他们的家在北京。 Tāmen de jiā zài Běijīng. Their home is in Beijing. |
3. Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns in Chinese use the word “自己” (zìjǐ), which means self.
| No | Reflexive Pronouns | Meaning | Examples in Sentences | |
| Character | Pinyin | |||
| 1 | 我自己 | wǒ zìjǐ | Myself | 我自己学汉语。 Wǒ zìjǐ xué Hànyǔ. I learn Chinese by myself. |
| 2 | 你自己 | nǐ zìjǐ | Yourself | 你自己写名字。 Nǐ zìjǐ xiě míngzì. Write your name by yourself. |
| 3 | 他自己 | tā zìjǐ | Himself | 他自己开门。 Tā zìjǐ kāi mén. He opens the door by himself. |
| 4 | 她自己 | tā zìjǐ | Herself | 她自己洗衣服。 Tā zìjǐ xǐ yīfu. She washes clothes by herself. |
| 5 | 他们自己 | tāmen zìjǐ | Themselves | 他们自己做饭。 Tāmen zìjǐ zuòfàn. They cook by themselves. |
4. Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns are words like this and that.
| No | Demonstrative Pronouns | Meaning | Examples in Sentences | |
| Character | Pinyin | |||
| 1 | 这 | zhè | This | 这是我的朋友。 Zhè shì wǒ de péngyǒu. This is my friend. |
| 2 | 那 | nà | That | 那是我的车。 Nà shì wǒ de chē. That is my car. |
| 3 | 这些 | zhèxiē | These | 这些是中文书。 Zhèxiē shì Zhōngwén shū. These are Chinese books. |
| 4 | 那些 | nàxiē | Those | 我不喜欢那些颜色。 Wǒ bù xǐhuan nàxiē yánsè. I don’t like those colors. |
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