Personal pronoun

Personal pronouns include 我 (wǒ), 你 (nǐ), 他 (tā), and 她 (tā). To make them
plural, all you need to do is add the suffix -们 (-men) to it. Additionally, there is a
polite second person form 您 (nín), which cannot normally take the -们 (-men)
suffix.

Additional Pronouns

When referring to a group, 他们 (tāmen) refers to a group of all males or a mixed

group. 她们 (tāmen) refers to a group of females. Note that this is only important
while writing, because otherwise they are pronounced the same. When referring
to a group in first-person (i.e. we), there are two constructions in Chinese: 我们
(wǒmen) and 咱们 (zánmen). The former is may exclude the listener, while the
latter always includes them.

When making reflexive sentences (sentences with himself, myself, etc.), you
have to add 自己 (zìjǐ) after the personal pronoun. This is sort of the "self" marker.

Examples
Question words
English Chinese Pinyin
I 我 wǒ

you 你 nǐ

he 他 tā

she 她 tā

All of the above can then add the suffix "-们" to them to make the plural: 我们
(we), 你们 (you all), 他们 (they), 她们 (they).
Chinese Pronouns

Pronouns are words that are used in place of a noun. They can be the subject,
the object, or complement. In Chinese, there are different kinds of Chinese
pronouns.
Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns substitute for the noun without repeating it. They can be
divided into:

• Personal subject pronouns, which are used in place of the subject

• Personal direct pronouns, used in place of the object personal

• Indirect pronouns, used in place of the complement

• Reflexive pronouns, in connection with the reflexive verbs.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns, that indicate the possession; they have the same form of
the adjective possessive:
我的 我们的
Wǒde Wǒmen de
My / Mine Ours
你的
你们的
Nǐde
Nǐmen de
Yours
Yours
他的
他们的
Tāde
Tāmen de
His
Theirs
她的
那个房子是我的。
Tāde
Nàge fángzi shì wǒde。
Hers
The house is mine.
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns show the position in the space and in the time.
那个房子是我的 Nàge fángzi shì wǒde That
。 - That house is mine.
这些
这个
zhèxiē
zhège (zhègè)
These
This 那些
那个
nàxiē
nàge (nàgè)
Those
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns, that don't specify the identity of the person or of the object.

有人打过电话 Yǒurén dǎguò diànhuà yǒu gè

。- Someone called. There is a
某个 有人打过电话
Mǒu gè
Yǒurén dǎguò diànhuà
One / Some
Someone called
有个

Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns, that introduce questions:

谁 哪个

shuí nǎgè (nǎge)

who which

什么 什么时候

shénme shénme shíhòu

what when
为什么 where

wèishénme 多少钱

why duōshǎoqián

怎么 how much

zěnme 他是谁
how
Tā shì shuí ?
哪儿
Who is he?
nǎ’er

Personal Subject Pronouns:

In Chinese there are 10 personal subject pronouns: 5 for the singular, 5 for the
plural.
Forms:
我 它

wǒ tā

I it

你 我们
nǐ wǒmen
you (male) we
妳
你们
nǐ
nǐmen
you (female)
you [guys] (referring to more than
他 one "you")
tā 他们
he
tāmen
她
they (referring to males)
tā
她们
she
tāmen He is my friend.
they (referring females) 她很漂亮。

它们 Tā hěn piàoliàng。

tāmen She is pretty.

they (referring to objects) 我们是中国人。

For example: Wǒmen shì Zhōngguórén。

我是林萍。 We are Chinese.
Wǒ shì Lín Píng。 你们也来吗？
I am Lin Ping.
Nǐmen yě lái ma？
你是谁？ Are you [guys] coming too?
(referring to more than one of "you")
Nǐ shì shuí？

Who are you? 他们喜欢旅行。

他是我的朋友。 Tāmen xǐhuān lǚxíng。

Tā shì wǒde péngyou。 They love traveling.

Direct Object Pronouns

In English, there are direct object pronouns, pronouns that directly receive the
action of the verb. They answer the question what, or whom, like “me” “him” or
“her”. In Chinese, direct object pronouns are the same words as subject
pronouns. That is to say, “I” is “我” in Chinese, and “me” is also “我”. It is also
the same case with words like “he/him” and “she/her” and “they/them”.

林萍看见他了。

Línpíng kànjiàn tā le。

Lin Ping saw him.

他看见林萍了。

Tā kànjiàn Lín Píng le。

He saw Lin Ping.

Reflexive pronoun

Reflexive pronouns are used in connection with reflexive verbs, in which the
action reflects itself on the subject. When we want to express meanings like that,
we put reflexive pronoun自己 zìjǐ after the pronouns we have covered today.

我自己 wǒmen zìjǐ

wǒ zìjǐ ourselves

myself 你们自己
你自己 nǐmen zìjǐ
nǐ zìjǐ yourselves
yourself
他们自己
他自己
tāmen zìjǐ
tā zìjǐ
themselves (referring to males)
himself
她们自己
她自己
tāmen zìjǐ
tā zìjǐ
themselves (referring females)
herself
牠自己 牠们自己

tā zìjǐ tāmen zìjǐ

itself (referring to an animal) themselves (referring to animals)

我们自己 Formal 您 nín and Informal 你 nǐ

In Chinese, there are two pronouns to refer to “you”, depending on the

situation. If it is a formal occasion, people tend to use formal pronoun 您 nín, 您
们 nínmen, whereas on ordinary occasions or in daily communication, their
informal equivalents 你nǐ and 你们 nǐmen are used.

您好吗，林小姐？

Nín hǎoma, Lín Xiǎojiě？

How are you, Miss Lin?
你好，林小姐。

Nǐhǎo, Lín Xiǎojiě。

Hello, Miss Lin.

Chinese pronouns summary

• Personal pronouns substitute without repeating the common or proper

nouns. They can be divided in personal subject pronouns, personal direct
pronouns, personal indirect pronouns and reflexive pronoun

• Possessive pronouns indicate possession

• Demonstrative pronouns show position in space and time

• Indefinite pronouns, are used when we don't need to specify the identity
of the person or object

• Relative pronouns relate more propositions

• Interrogative pronouns introduce questions

• Direct and indirect pronouns have two forms, according to the position
they have in the sentence

• Reflexive pronouns are always used in connection with a reflexive verb

• Formal and informal is not a matter of tradition in Chinese, but an

important form of respect. Never say你nǐ, you, to your boss or an older
genlteman!
That's it for this lesson.
Here are a few recommended Chinese lessons to try next!

• How the Chinese verbs work.

• Shopping is much easier if you know your clothes in Chinese!

• Describing the colors in Chinese is essential to spice up your

conversational skills.
Adding the phrase "自己" gives you: 我自己 (myself), 你自己 (yourself), 他自己
(himself), 她自己 (herself), 我们自己 (ourselves), etc.