Subject pronouns show who is doing the action in a sentence. In Mandarin Chinese, subject pronouns are straightforward and useful for making sentences clear and natural.
Singular Subject Pronouns
Singular subject pronouns refer to one person or thing. They are often used in everyday speech and writing when specifying the subject.
| Hanzi Character(s) | Pinyin Word(s) | English Translation(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我 | wǒ | I / me | |
| 你 | nǐ | you (singular) | |
| 他 | tā | he / him | |
| 她 | tā | she / her | |
| 它 | tā | it |
Examples
I like studying Chinese.
| Hanzi Character(s) | Pinyin Word(s) | English Translation(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🧑 我今天开会了。 | Wǒ jīntiān kāihuì le. | I had a meeting today. | |
| 👩 你几点开始工作？ | Nǐ jǐ diǎn kāishǐ gōngzuò? | When do you start work? | |
| 🧔 他出差去了上海。 | Tā chūchāi qùle Shànghǎi. | He went on a business trip to Shanghai. | |
| 👩💼 她在回复邮件。 | Tā zài huífù yóujiàn. | She is replying to emails. | |
| 🧑💻 它的系统更新了。 | Tā de xìtǒng gēngxīn le. | Its system was updated. | |
| 👴 您需要帮忙吗？ | Nín xūyào bāngmáng ma? | Do you need help? | |
| 👶 你们早上好！ | Nǐmen zǎoshang hǎo! | Good morning, everyone! |
Plural Subject Pronouns
Plural subject pronouns refer to more than one person or thing. They are formed by adding 们 men to the singular pronoun in most cases.
| Hanzi Character(s) | Pinyin Word(s) | English Translation(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我们 | wǒmen | we / us | |
| 你们 | nǐmen | you (plural) | |
| 他们 | tāmen | they / them (male or mixed) | |
| 她们 | tāmen | they / them (female) | |
| 它们 | tāmen | they / them (things/animals) |
Examples
| Hanzi Character(s) | Pinyin Word(s) | English Translation(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 👥 我们开了个团队会议。 | Wǒmen kāile gè tuánduì huìyì. | We held a team meeting. | |
| 🧑🤝🧑 你们准备好演示了吗？ | Nǐmen zhǔnbèi hǎo yǎnshì le ma? | Are you ready for the presentation? | |
| 👨👩👧 他们加班完成了项目。 | Tāmen jiābān wánchéng le xiàngmù. | They worked overtime to finish the project. | |
| 👩🏫 她们正在讨论方案。 | Tāmen zhèngzài tǎolùn fāng'àn. | They (all female) are discussing the plan. | |
| 🧑💼 咱们中午一起吃饭吧。 | Zánmen zhōngwǔ yīqǐ chīfàn ba. | Let's have lunch together at noon. |
Special Notes
Pronouns like 他, 她, and 它 sound the same tā but differ in written form depending on gender or whether the referent is an animal or thing. 你 can be dropped in casual speech if context is clear.
Examples
Summary
Subject pronouns in Mandarin are short and consistent: use 我, 你, 他/她/它 for singular and add 们 for plural when needed. They keep sentences clear by marking who does what.
Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025