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他 (tā) — he; him

Definition

他 is the everyday third-person pronoun for males ('he / him'). Other Chinese pronouns cover different people, but 他 specifically refers to a male person (她 = she, 它 = it).

pronoun
hehim
Easily confused

Examples

  • 他。
    tā Shì zhōng guó rén.
    He is Chinese.
  • 他。
    Wǒ jiào tā.
    I call him.
  • 他。
    tā Hěn hǎo.
    He is very good.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě他tā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

他 combines 亻 (a person) with 也, which was chosen for its sound.

Grammar

Appears in
100 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 3.0 Level 1500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 11000 Most Frequent Chinese Words2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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