Pronouns
The entire pronoun system is three singulars, one plural suffix, and one polite form — and pronouns never change for case: 我 wǒ is both "I" and "me".
The full table
| person | singular | plural (+们 men) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 我 wǒ — "I / me" | 我们 wǒmen — "we / us" |
| 2nd | 你 nǐ — "you" | 你们 nǐmen — "you all" |
| 2nd polite | 您 nín — "you (formal)" | (您们 is avoided; use 你们 or 各位 gèwèi) |
| 3rd | 他 tā — "he/him" · 她 tā — "she/her" · 它 tā — "it" | 他们 tāmen · 她们 tāmen · 它们 tāmen |
Everything is tā
他 (he), 她 (she) and 它 (it) are all pronounced identically: tā. Spoken Mandarin has no gender at all — the distinction exists only in writing (and 她 was invented in the 1910s under European influence). Two consequences:
- Listening: you can't hear whether someone said "he" or "she". Context does it.
- Speaking: you will never make a gender mistake out loud. Enjoy that.
For a mixed group, writing uses 他们.
No case forms
The same word is subject and object — position tells you which:
我爱她 wǒ ài tā — "I love her" · 她爱我 tā ài wǒ — "she loves me"
No I/me, no je/moi, no ich/mich. One form each.
我们 vs 咱们 — two kinds of "we"
| 我们 wǒmen | "we" — may or may not include the listener | 我们先走了 wǒmen xiān zǒu le — "we're off" (you're not) |
| 咱们 zánmen | "we" — explicitly including you | 咱们走吧 zánmen zǒu ba — "let's go (you and me)" |
咱们 is northern and conversational; 我们 is always safe.
您 nín — polite "you"
Use 您 for elders, customers, teachers, strangers you want to flatter. It conjugates nothing and changes nothing else in the sentence — swap it in and you're done:
您贵姓？nín guì xìng? — "What is your (honored) surname?"
Compared to tu/vous or du/Sie, the stakes are low: 你 to a stranger is normal in most of China; 您 is a bonus courtesy, strongest in Beijing.
Possessives: just add 的 de
There are no possessive pronouns to learn — 的 de after anything makes it possessive:
| 我的书 wǒ de shū | "my book" | |
| 他们的老师 tāmen de lǎoshī | "their teacher" | |
| 这是我的 zhè shì wǒ de | "this is mine" | 的 with nothing after = "mine" |
With close relationships and groups you belong to, 的 usually drops: 我妈妈 wǒ māma — "my mom", 我们学校 wǒmen xuéxiào — "our school".
Dropping pronouns
Once the subject is clear, Mandarin freely omits it: 去过北京吗？qù guo Běijīng ma? — "(Have you) been to Beijing?" Don't robotically start every sentence with 我 — answer 去过 qù guo — "(I) have."
Same chapter in: English · French · Spanish · German · Italian · Georgian · Cantonese · Japanese · Malay