For autodidact students of Mandarin Chinese, the pronoun 他 (tā) — "he/him" — introduces one of the most striking features of spoken Chinese: the three third-person singular pronouns 他 (he), 她 (she), and 它 (it) are all pronounced identically as tā. The distinction exists only in writing, a feature of the modern written language rather than the spoken tongue. This makes Mandarin one of the very few languages where spoken gender neutrality in third-person reference is built into the grammar.
FAQ: What does 他 (tā) mean in Mandarin? 他 is the third-person masculine singular pronoun "he/him." In speech, it is identical to 她 (she, tā) and 它 (it, tā). The character 他 contains the 人 (rén, person) radical; 她 contains 女 (nǚ, woman). Unlike English, Chinese verbs never change form to agree with the subject — 他说 (he speaks) and 你说 (you speak) use exactly the same verb form 说.
In the following 15 examples you will encounter 他 in subject, object, and possessive positions, and with the possessive particle 的 (de). The duplex interlinear format gives direct character-to-meaning access on line (a) and phonetic support on line (b).
Educational Note: Designed for English speakers learning Mandarin through the Latinum Institute's proven interlinear method.
Key Takeaways: - 他 (tā) = he/him; 她 (tā) = she/her; 它 (tā) = it — identical in speech, distinct in writing - Chinese verbs never conjugate for person — 他说 uses the same 说 as 我说 or 你说 - Possessive: 他的 (tā de) = his; 的 (de) is the possessive/attributive particle - Object pronoun: same form as subject — 我看他 (I see him), not a separate "him" form
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
The character 他 is composed of 人 (rén, person) on the left as a radical, and 也 (yě, also) on the right as a phonetic component. The 人 radical appears as 亻(a compressed form) when on the left side of a character. Recognising radicals accelerates character learning across the entire lexicon.
Pinyin tone: tā — first tone, high and level. Hold the pitch steady; do not allow it to fall. The tone mark ā (macron) indicates first tone.
Common learner mistakes: - Confusing 他 (he), 她 (she), 它 (it) in writing — all tā, but different characters - Expecting verb conjugation — Chinese verbs are invariant; context and time words carry tense - Adding a separate object pronoun — Chinese uses the same form: 他 is both "he" and "him"
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
16.1a 他 he 是 is 我的 my 朋友 friend
16.1b (tā) he (shì) is (wǒ de) my (péngyou) friend
16.2a 他 he 每天 every-day 来 come 这里 here
16.2b (tā) he (měitiān) every-day (lái) come (zhèlǐ) here
16.3a 我 I 认识 know [acquainted] 他 him 很多 very-many 年 years 了 PERF
16.3b (wǒ) I (rènshi) know [acquainted] (tā) him (hěn duō) very-many (nián) years (le) PERF
16.4a 他的 his 书 book 在 at/in 桌子 table 上 on
16.4b (tā de) his (shū) book (zài) at/in (zhuōzi) table (shàng) on
16.5a 他 he 不 not 喜欢 like 吃 eat 鱼 fish
16.5b (tā) he (bù) not (xǐhuan) like (chī) eat (yú) fish
16.6a 你 you 知道 know 他 him 住 live 在哪里 where 吗 Q
16.6b (nǐ) you (zhīdào) know (tā) him (zhù) live (zài nǎlǐ) where (ma) Q
16.7a 他 he 说 said 他 he 明天 tomorrow 要 will 来 come
16.7b (tā) he (shuō) said (tā) he (míngtiān) tomorrow (yào) will (lái) come
16.8a 这 this 是 is 他 his 第一次 first-time 来 come 中国 China
16.8b (zhè) this (shì) is (tā) his (dì yī cì) first-time (lái) come (Zhōngguó) China
16.9a 他 he 学 study 中文 Chinese 学 study 了 PERF 两年 two-years 了 PERF
16.9b (tā) he (xué) study (Zhōngwén) Chinese (xué) study (le) PERF (liǎng nián) two-years (le) PERF
16.10a 我 I 给 give 他 him 发 send 了 PERF 一封 one-CL 信 letter
16.10b (wǒ) I (gěi) give (tā) him (fā) send (le) PERF (yī fēng) one-CL (xìn) letter
16.11a 他 he 跑 run 得 DE 很 very 快 fast
16.11b (tā) he (pǎo) run (de) DE (hěn) very (kuài) fast
16.12a 大家 everyone 都 all 喜欢 like 他 him
16.12b (dàjiā) everyone (dōu) all (xǐhuan) like (tā) him
16.13a 他 he 一个人 alone 住 live 在 in 北京 Beijing
16.13b (tā) he (yīgèrén) alone (zhù) live (zài) in (Běijīng) Beijing
16.14a 昨天 yesterday 他 he 生病 fall-ill 了 PERF 所以 therefore 没 not 来 come
16.14b (zuótiān) yesterday (tā) he (shēngbìng) fall-ill (le) PERF (suǒyǐ) therefore (méi) not (lái) come
16.15a 他 he 的 DE 梦想 dream 是 is 成为 become 一名 one-CL 医生 doctor
16.15b (tā) he (de) DE (mèngxiǎng) dream (shì) is (chéngwéi) become (yī míng) one-CL (yīshēng) doctor
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
16.1 他是我的朋友。 "He is my friend." 16.2 他每天来这里。 "He comes here every day." 16.3 我认识他很多年了。 "I have known him for many years." 16.4 他的书在桌子上。 "His book is on the table." 16.5 他不喜欢吃鱼。 "He doesn't like eating fish." 16.6 你知道他住在哪里吗？ "Do you know where he lives?" 16.7 他说他明天要来。 "He said he would come tomorrow." 16.8 这是他第一次来中国。 "This is his first time coming to China." 16.9 他学中文学了两年了。 "He has been studying Chinese for two years." 16.10 我给他发了一封信。 "I sent him a letter." 16.11 他跑得很快。 "He runs very fast." 16.12 大家都喜欢他。 "Everyone likes him." 16.13 他一个人住在北京。 "He lives alone in Beijing." 16.14 昨天他生病了，所以没来。 "Yesterday he fell ill, so he didn't come." 16.15 他的梦想是成为一名医生。 "His dream is to become a doctor."
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
16.1 他是我的朋友。 16.2 他每天来这里。 16.3 我认识他很多年了。 16.4 他的书在桌子上。 16.5 他不喜欢吃鱼。 16.6 你知道他住在哪里吗？ 16.7 他说他明天要来。 16.8 这是他第一次来中国。 16.9 他学中文学了两年了。 16.10 我给他发了一封信。 16.11 他跑得很快。 16.12 大家都喜欢他。 16.13 他一个人住在北京。 16.14 昨天他生病了，所以没来。 16.15 他的梦想是成为一名医生。
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
These are the grammar rules for 他 (tā) — "he/him":
Third-person pronouns — the tā triad: All three third-person singular pronouns share the same pronunciation tā but differ in character and function: - 他 (tā): masculine / general (used by default for mixed or unspecified gender) - 她 (tā): feminine (contains the 女 female radical) - 它 (tā): non-human (objects, animals)
Possessive 他的 (tā de): The particle 的 (de) follows a pronoun to form the possessive. 他的书 (his book), 他的家 (his home), 他的朋友 (his friend). In informal speech, 的 may be dropped with close relationships: 他妈妈 (his mum) rather than 他的妈妈.
No case distinction: Chinese uses the same form for subject (he) and object (him). The role is determined by word order: 他看我 (He sees me) vs 我看他 (I see him).
Verb invariance: 他说 (he says/said/will say) uses the same 说 as 我说, 你说, 我们说. Tense and aspect are conveyed by time words (昨天 yesterday, 明天 tomorrow) and aspect markers (了 completion, 过 experience, 着 ongoing state).
The 得 (de) complement: 他跑得很快 — the structural particle 得 (de) connects a verb to its result or manner complement. Verb + 得 + complement describes HOW an action is performed.
Common Mistakes: - Confusing 他/她/它 in writing — critical in professional and written contexts - Expecting verb conjugation for third person — there is none - Placing 他的 after the noun — possessives always precede what they modify in Chinese
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
The written distinction between 他, 她, and 它 is a relatively modern innovation. Classical Chinese used 他 for all third-person references regardless of gender. The character 她 was introduced in the early twentieth century by the poet and translator Liu Bannong (刘半农) as part of China's literary modernisation — a deliberate creation to parallel European pronoun gender distinctions in translation.
The internet era has produced 他/她 blended forms and new gender-neutral proposals (TA or 𝗿 in digital writing), reflecting ongoing debates about gender and language in contemporary Chinese society.
In everyday speech, gender ambiguity in tā is rarely a problem — context makes the referent clear. In writing, the choice of character is a meaningful act.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
《论语·学而》(Lúnyǔ — Analects of Confucius, Chapter 1, c. 5th century BCE)
The Analects open with a reflection on learning, friendship, and being known. The third line introduces 人 (rén, people/he who) and the theme of not being troubled when others do not know you — a classic use of third-person reference in Chinese thought.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
人 (rén) people/one 不 (bù) not 知 (zhī) know 而 (ér) yet 不 (bù) not 愠 (yùn) feel-resentful ， , 不 (bù) not 亦 (yì) also 君子 (jūnzǐ) gentleman 乎 (hū) INTERR
F-B: Authentic Text with Translation
人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？
"Is it not the mark of a gentleman to feel no resentment when others do not know him?"
F-C: Authentic Text Only
人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？
F-D: Grammar and Vocabulary Notes
人 (rén): here functions as an indefinite pronoun "people / one / he who" — the unspecified third person. Classical Chinese frequently uses 人 where modern Chinese would use 他人 (others) or 别人 (other people).
不愠 (bù yùn): 愠 means to feel resentment or irritation. 不 negates it. This use of 不 + psychological state verb is identical in classical and modern Chinese.
不亦…乎 (bù yì…hū): a classical rhetorical question pattern — "is it not…?" equivalent to 不也是…吗 in modern Chinese.
F-E: Literary Commentary
Confucius's Analects are the most quoted text in the Chinese literary tradition. This line places the concept of "the other person" — 人, he who — at the centre of a moral proposition: the enlightened person is not troubled by being unknown. The pronoun structure of the sentence mirrors Chinese social philosophy: the self is defined in relation to others (他人), and the appropriate relationship to those others is one of equanimity rather than need for recognition.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
Li Wei arrives in Shanghai for the first time. All 15 genre examples follow him through his day — showing 他 across all grammatical positions and with various verbs.
16.16a 他 he 第一次 first-time 来 come 上海 Shanghai ， , 心里 heart-inside 很 very 激动 excited
16.16b (tā) he (dì yī cì) first-time (lái) come (Shànghǎi) Shanghai (xīnlǐ) heart-inside (hěn) very (jīdòng) excited
16.17a 他 he 在 at 机场 airport 等 wait 了 PERF 一个 one-CL 小时 hour
16.17b (tā) he (zài) at (jīchǎng) airport (děng) wait (le) PERF (yī gè) one-CL (xiǎoshí) hour
16.18a 出租车 taxi 司机 driver 问 ask 他 him 去 go 哪里 where
16.18b (chūzūchē) taxi (sījī) driver (wèn) ask (tā) him (qù) go (nǎlǐ) where
16.19a 他 he 把 BA 行李 luggage 放 put 在 in 酒店 hotel 房间 room 里 inside
16.19b (tā) he (bǎ) BA (xínglǐ) luggage (fàng) put (zài) in (jiǔdiàn) hotel (fángjiān) room (lǐ) inside
16.20a 他 he 觉得 feel 上海 Shanghai 比 than 他 his 家乡 hometown 大 big 多了 much-more
16.20b (tā) he (juéde) feel (Shànghǎi) Shanghai (bǐ) than (tā) his (jiāxiāng) hometown (dà) big (duō le) much-more
16.21a 朋友 friend 带 bring 他 him 去 go 吃 eat 本帮菜 Shanghai-cuisine
16.21b (péngyou) friend (dài) bring (tā) him (qù) go (chī) eat (běnbāng cài) Shanghai-cuisine
16.22a 他 he 没 not 吃过 eaten [EXP] 这么 this-so 好吃 delicious 的 DE 东西 things
16.22b (tā) he (méi) not (chī guo) eaten [EXP] (zhème) this-so (hǎochī) delicious (de) DE (dōngxi) things
16.23a 大家 everyone 都 all 叫 call 他 him "小李" Little-Li
16.23b (dàjiā) everyone (dōu) all (jiào) call (tā) him (Xiǎo Lǐ) Little-Li
16.24a 他 he 给 to 家人 family 打 make 了 PERF 电话 phone-call 说 say 一切 everything 都好 fine
16.24b (tā) he (gěi) to (jiārén) family (dǎ) make (le) PERF (diànhuà) phone-call (shuō) say (yīqiè) everything (dōu hǎo) fine
16.25a 晚上 evening 他 he 一个人 alone 走 walk 在 on 外滩 Bund ， , 看 look-at 黄浦江 Huangpu-River
16.25b (wǎnshang) evening (tā) he (yīgèrén) alone (zǒu) walk (zài) on (Wàitān) Bund (kàn) look-at (Huángpǔ Jiāng) Huangpu-River
16.26a 他 he 心想 think-to-self ： : "我 I 终于 finally 来了 came 。"
16.26b (tā) he (xīn xiǎng) think-to-self (wǒ) I (zhōngyú) finally (lái le) came
16.27a 夜风 night-breeze 吹 blow 着 PROG 他 him 的 DE 头发 hair
16.27b (yèfēng) night-breeze (chuī) blow (zhe) PROG (tā) him (de) DE (tóufa) hair
16.28a 他 he 想起 recall 了 PERF 他 his 父亲 father 曾经 once 说过 said [EXP] 的 DE 话 words
16.28b (tā) he (xiǎngqǐ) recall (le) PERF (tā) his (fùqin) father (céngjīng) once (shuō guo) said [EXP] (de) DE (huà) words
16.29a 他 he 决定 decide 在 in 上海 Shanghai 好好 properly 生活 live 、 , 好好 properly 工作 work
16.29b (tā) he (juédìng) decide (zài) in (Shànghǎi) Shanghai (hǎohǎo) properly (shēnghuó) live (hǎohǎo) properly (gōngzuò) work
16.30a 那一晚 that-one-evening ， , 他 he 睡得 sleep-DE 很 very 香 soundly
16.30b (nà yī wǎn) that-one-evening (tā) he (shuì de) sleep-DE (hěn) very (xiāng) soundly
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
16.16 他第一次来上海，心里很激动。 "He came to Shanghai for the first time, feeling very excited." 16.17 他在机场等了一个小时。 "He waited at the airport for an hour." 16.18 出租车司机问他去哪里。 "The taxi driver asked him where he was going." 16.19 他把行李放在酒店房间里。 "He put his luggage in the hotel room." 16.20 他觉得上海比他家乡大多了。 "He felt Shanghai was much bigger than his hometown." 16.21 朋友带他去吃本帮菜。 "A friend took him to eat Shanghai cuisine." 16.22 他没吃过这么好吃的东西。 "He had never eaten anything so delicious." 16.23 大家都叫他'小李'。 "Everyone called him 'Little Li'." 16.24 他给家人打了电话，说一切都好。 "He called his family and said everything was fine." 16.25 晚上他一个人走在外滩，看黄浦江。 "In the evening he walked alone on the Bund, looking at the Huangpu River." 16.26 他心想："我终于来了。" "He thought to himself: 'I've finally arrived.'" 16.27 夜风吹着他的头发。 "The night breeze blew through his hair." 16.28 他想起了他父亲曾经说过的话。 "He recalled the words his father had once said." 16.29 他决定在上海好好生活、好好工作。 "He decided to live and work properly in Shanghai." 16.30 那一晚，他睡得很香。 "That night, he slept soundly."
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
16.16 他第一次来上海，心里很激动。 16.17 他在机场等了一个小时。 16.18 出租车司机问他去哪里。 16.19 他把行李放在酒店房间里。 16.20 他觉得上海比他家乡大多了。 16.21 朋友带他去吃本帮菜。 16.22 他没吃过这么好吃的东西。 16.23 大家都叫他"小李"。 16.24 他给家人打了电话，说一切都好。 16.25 晚上他一个人走在外滩，看黄浦江。 16.26 他心想："我终于来了。" 16.27 夜风吹着他的头发。 16.28 他想起了他父亲曾经说过的话。 16.29 他决定在上海好好生活、好好工作。 16.30 那一晚，他睡得很香。
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
把 (bǎ) construction (example 16.19): 他把行李放在房间里 — the 把 construction places the object BEFORE the verb to emphasise the disposal, transformation, or placement of a definite object. Structure: Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + Result/Location. It cannot be used with simple intransitive verbs.
着 (zhe) progressive aspect (16.27): 夜风吹着他的头发 — 着 after a verb indicates an ongoing state or action serving as background. It differs from 在/正在 + verb (which emphasises an action in progress at a moment) by stressing duration and background state.
曾经...过 (céng jīng...guo) experiential past (16.28): 曾经说过的话 — 曾经 (once/formerly) + verb + 过 (experiential aspect marker) = something that happened at some past point. Used for past experiences that are still relevant.
心想 (xīn xiǎng): a compound meaning "to think in one's heart/mind" — frequently used in narrative to introduce internal monologue, equivalent to "thought to himself" in English.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
他 (tā) — IPA: /tʰa˥/ — First tone, high level.
- t: aspirated alveolar stop [tʰ] — a clear puff of breath follows the t. Contrast with 大 (dà) which has an unaspirated d [d̪] - ā: low back vowel, open mouth, held steady at a high pitch - Tone 1 (—): the pitch stays flat and high, like a musical held note. Do not let it fall or rise.
Contrasting tā sounds: - 他 tā (tone 1) = he - 她 tā (tone 1) = she (same sound, different character) - 踏 tà (tone 4) = to step on - 塔 tǎ (tone 3) = tower/pagoda
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
---