他
tā
The Chinese word for "he" is 他 (tā). Wiktionary also lists 伊 (yī) and 怹 (tān).
Meaning: personal pronoun "he" (pron)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 他 | tā | |
| 伊 | yī | feminine, literary, masculine |
| 怹 | tān | dialectal, feminine, honorific, masculine |
The pronoun tā is the common and neutral way to say "he" or "she" in Chinese. The character 他 is used when referring to a male.
Which one should you use?
While 他 (tā) is used for "he", the same pronunciation is used for the feminine "she" (她) and the neutral "it" (它) in spoken Chinese, though the characters differ.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form 伊 (yī) is a more literary or archaic way to refer to a third-person pronoun compared to the standard tā. 怹 (tān) is an honorific form.
Is it said differently in some regions?
怹 is a dialectal form.
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding the possessive particle de to tā creates the possessive form 他的 (tā de) (his).
How do you pronounce it?
tā
Did you know?
- The literary form 伊 is actually related to the word for 'this' in Burmese, originating from a Proto-Sino-Tibetan root.
Examples in context
- 他有很多钱。He has a lot of money.Tatoeba #480581 by biglion, translation #480576 by CK
- 他年近四十。He is near forty.Tatoeba #707500 by Yashanti, translation #707501 by CH
- 他坐在地上。He was sitting on the floor.Tatoeba #799117 by GlossaMatik, translation #299626 by CK
- 5918 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Junjie and Xiaowen are looking at a photo of a friend.
- 俊杰 Junjie他是谁？Tā shì shuí?Who is he?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen他是我的同学。Tā shì wǒ de tóng xué.He is my classmate.
- 俊杰 Junjie他看起来很帅。Tā kàn qǐ lái hěn shuài.He looks very handsome.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen是的，他性格也很好。Shì de, tā xìng gé yě hěn hǎo.Yes, and he has a great personality too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “he” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 他, 伊, 怹, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
