Mandarin Pronouns

There are just three basic pronouns in spoken Mandarin:

• I, me - wǒ - 我
• You - nǐ - 你
• He, Him / She, Her / It - tā

Plurals

Plurals are formed by adding 'men' at the end of the pronoun:

• We, Us - wǒ men - 我們
• You - nǐ men - 你們
• They, Them - tā men - 他們

When speaking to elders or someone in authority, it is more polite to address them formally with nín 您 instead of the less formal nǐ - 你.

Written Forms

He, she, and it all have the same sound - tā, but they use different characters for writing:

    he - 他
    she - 她
    it - 它

In spoken Mandarin, the context of the sentence will usually (but not always!) tell you whether the speaker is referring to a man, a woman or a thing.
Reflexive Pronoun

Mandarin also has a reflexive pronoun zì jǐ -自己, used when both subject and object are the same. For example:

Tā xǐ huàn tā zì jǐ – He likes himself.

Zì jǐ can also be used directly after a noun or pronoun to intensify the subject. For example:

Wǒ zì jǐ xǐ huàn. – I, myself, like it.
Sound Clips of Mandarin Pronouns

Here are some example sentences using Mandarin pronouns.

Audio files are marked with ►
Wǒ - 我

    I am a student.
    ► Wǒ shì xuéshēng.
    我是學生｡

    I like ice cream.
    ► Wǒ xǐhuān bīngqílín.
    我喜歡冰淇淋｡

    I don’t have a bicycle.
    ► Wǒ méi yǒu jiǎotàchē.
    我沒有腳踏車｡

Nǐ - 你

    Are you a student?
    ► Nǐ shì xuéshēng ma?
    你是學生嗎?

    Do you like ice cream?
    ► Nǐ xǐhuan bīngqílín ma?
    你喜歡冰淇淋嗎?

    Do you have a bicycle?
    ► Nǐ yǒu jiǎotàchē ma?
    你有腳踏車嗎?

Tā - 她

    She is a doctor.
    ► Tā shì yīshēng.
    她是醫生｡

    She likes coffee.
    ► Tā xǐhuan kāfēi.
    她喜歡咖啡｡

    She doesn’t have a car.
    ► Tā méi yǒu chē.
    她沒有車｡


Wǒmen - 我們

    We are students.
    ► Wǒmen shì xuéshēng.
    我們是學生｡

    We like ice cream.
    ► Wǒmen xǐhuan bīngqílín.
    我們喜歡冰淇淋｡

    We don’t have a bicycle.
    ► Wǒmen méi yǒu jiǎotàchē.
    我們沒有腳踏車｡

Tāmen - 他們

    They are students.
    ► Tāmen shì xuéshēng.
    他們是學生｡

    They like coffee.
    ► Tāmen xǐhuan kāfēi.
    他們喜歡咖啡｡

    They don’t have a car.
    ► Tāmen méi yǒu chē.
    他們沒有車｡

Zìjǐ - 自己

    He lives by himself.
    ► Tā zìjǐ zhù.
    他自己住｡

    I will go myself.
    ► Wǒ zìjǐ qù.
    我自己去｡