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｡
