Chinese Pronouns

There are just a few pronouns in Mandarin Chinese, and unlike many European languages, there are no subject / verb agreements to worry about. Just a few simple rules tell you everything you need to know about pronouns in Chinese. Basic Pronouns These are the pronouns of written Mandarin Chinese. I, me: wÇ’: 我You: nÇ  - ä ½  You (formal): nà ­n:  Ã¦â€š ¨Ã‚  He, Him: tÄ : ä »â€"She, Her: tÄ : Ã¥ ¥ ¹It: tÄ : Ã¥ ®Æ' Youll notice that there are two ways of saying you. When speaking to elders or someone in authority, it is more polite to address them formally with æ‚ ¨ (nà ­n) instead of the less formal ä ½   (nÇ ). While there are six pronouns listed above in written Mandarin, in spoken Mandarin it boils down to just three basic pronouns: I / me, you, he / she / it. This is because ä »â€" / Ã¥ ¥ ¹ / Ã¥ ®Æ' are all pronounced the same, tÄ .   Plurals Plurals are formed by adding 們 (traditional form) / ä » ¬ (simplified form) at the end of a basic pronoun. This character is pronounced men. See below: We, Us: wÇ’ men: 我們 /  Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¤ » ¬You (plural): nÇ  men: ä ½  Ã¥â‚¬â€˜ / ä ½  Ã¤ » ¬They, Them:  tÄ  men: ä »â€"們 /  Ã¤ »â€"ä » ¬ Differentiating Gender As discussed earlier, gender differentiating pronouns like he, she, and it all have the same sound, tÄ , but different written characters. In spoken Mandarin, differentiating between genders is a little less obvious. However, the context of the sentence will usually tell you whether the speaker is referring to a man, a woman, or a thing. Reflexive Pronoun Mandarin Chinese also has a reflexive pronoun è‡ ªÃ¥ · ± (zà ¬ jÇ ). This is used when both subject and object are the same. For example: TÄ  xÇ  huà  n tÄ  zà ¬ jÇ Ã¤ »â€"Ã¥â€"Å"æ ¬ ¢Ã¤ »â€"è‡ ªÃ¥ · ± /  Ã¤ »â€"Ã¥â€"Å"æ ­ ¡Ã¤ »â€"è‡ ªÃ¥ · ±He likes himself. è‡ ªÃ¥ · ± (zà ¬ jÇ ) can also be used directly after a noun or pronoun to intensify the subject. For example: WÇ’ zà ¬ jÇ  xÇ  huà  n.我è‡ ªÃ¥ · ±Ã¥â€"Å"æ ¬ ¢ / 我è‡ ªÃ¥ · ±Ã¥â€"Å"æ ­ ¡I, myself, like it. Sentence Examples Using Chinese Pronouns Here are some sentences using pronouns. See if you can use these examples as a guide or template to creating your own sentences. Audio files are marked with ââ€" º WÇ’: 我 I am a student.ââ€" ºWÇ’ shà ¬ xuà ©shÄ“ng.​我æ˜ ¯Ã¥ ­ ¸Ã§â€Å¸ (traditional)我å ­ ¦Ã§â€Å¸ ​(simplified)I like ice cream.ââ€" ºWÇ’ xÇ huÄ n bÄ «ngqà ­là ­n.我åâ€"Å"æ ­ ¡Ã¥â€  °Ã¦ ·â€¡Ã¦ ·â€¹Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¥â€"Å"æ ¬ ¢Ã¥â€  °Ã¦ ·â€¡Ã¦ ·â€¹I don’t have a bicycle.ââ€" ºWÇ’ mà ©i yÇ’u jiÇŽotà  chÄ“.我æ ²â€™Ã¦Å"‰è… ³Ã¨ ¸ Ã¨ »Å Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¦ ² ¡Ã¦Å"‰è„šè ¸ Ã¨ ½ ¦ NÇ : ä ½   Are you a student?ââ€" ºNÇ  shà ¬ xuà ©shÄ“ng ma?ä ½  Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥ ­ ¸Ã§â€Å¸Ã¥â€"Ž?ä ½  Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã§â€Å¸Ã¥ â€"?Do you like ice cream?ââ€" ºNÇ  xÇ huan bÄ «ngqà ­là ­n ma?ä ½  Ã¥â€"Å"æ ­ ¡Ã¥â€  °Ã¦ ·â€¡Ã¦ ·â€¹Ã¥â€"Ž?ä ½  Ã¥â€"Å"æ ¬ ¢Ã¥â€  °Ã¦ ·â€¡Ã¦ ·â€¹Ã¥ â€"?Do you have a bicycle?ââ€" ºNÇ  yÇ’u jiÇŽotà  chÄ“ ma?ä ½  Ã¦Å"‰è… ³Ã¨ ¸ Ã¨ »Å Ã¥â€"Ž?ä ½  Ã¦Å"‰è„šè ¸ Ã¨ ½ ¦Ã¥ â€"? TÄ : Ã¥ ¥ ¹ She is a doctor.ââ€" ºTÄ  shà ¬ yÄ «shÄ“ng.Ã¥ ¥ ¹Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã©â€  «Ã§â€Å¸Ã¥ ¥ ¹Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥Å' »Ã§â€Å¸She likes coffee.ââ€" ºTÄ  xÇ huan kÄ fÄ“i.Ã¥ ¥ ¹Ã¥â€"Å"æ ­ ¡Ã¥â€™â€"å• ¡Ã¥ ¥ ¹Ã¥â€"Å"æ ¬ ¢Ã¥â€™â€"å• ¡She doesn’t have a car.ââ€" ºTÄ  mà ©i yÇ’u chÄ“.Ã¥ ¥ ¹Ã¦ ²â€™Ã¦Å"‰è »Å Ã¥ ¥ ¹Ã¦ ² ¡Ã¦Å"‰è ½ ¦ WÇ’ men: 我們 /  Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¤ » ¬ We are students.ââ€" ºWÇ’men shà ¬ xuà ©shÄ“ng.我們æ˜ ¯Ã¥ ­ ¸Ã§â€Å¸Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¤ » ¬Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã§â€Å¸We like ice cream.ââ€" ºWÇ’men xÇ huan bÄ «ngqà ­là ­n.我們åâ€"Å"æ ­ ¡Ã¥â€  °Ã¦ ·â€¡Ã¦ ·â€¹Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¤ » ¬Ã¥â€"Å"æ ¬ ¢Ã¥â€  °Ã¦ ·â€¡Ã¦ ·â€¹We don’t have a bicycle.ââ€" ºWÇ’men mà ©i yÇ’u jiÇŽotà  chÄ“.我們æ ²â€™Ã¦Å"‰è… ³Ã¨ ¸ Ã¨ »Å Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¤ » ¬Ã¦ ² ¡Ã¦Å"‰è„šè ¸ Ã¨ ½ ¦ TÄ  men: ä »â€"們 /  Ã¤ »â€"ä » ¬ They are students.ââ€" ºTÄ men shà ¬ xuà ©shÄ“ng.ä »â€"們æ˜ ¯Ã¥ ­ ¸Ã§â€Å¸Ã¤ »â€"ä » ¬Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã§â€Å¸They like coffee.ââ€" ºTÄ men xÇ huan kÄ fÄ“i.ä »â€"們åâ€"Å"æ ­ ¡Ã¥â€™â€"å• ¡Ã¤ »â€"ä » ¬Ã¥â€"Å"æ ¬ ¢Ã¥â€™â€"å• ¡They don’t have a car.ââ€" ºTÄ men mà ©i yÇ’u chÄ“.ä »â€"們æ ²â€™Ã¦Å"‰è »Å Ã¤ »â€"ä » ¬Ã¦ ² ¡Ã¦Å"‰è ½ ¦ Zà ¬ jÇ : è‡ ªÃ¥ · ± He lives by himself.ââ€" ºTÄ  zà ¬jÇ  zhà ¹.ä »â€"è‡ ªÃ¥ · ±Ã¤ ½ I will go myself.ââ€" ºWÇ’ zà ¬jÇ  qà ¹.我è‡ ªÃ¥ · ±Ã¥Å½ »