HSK · Level 1
130 words
Chinese word
其
Pronunciation
Pinyinqí
Meaning
- pronountheir
Example
其父母均健在。qí fù mǔ jūn jiàn zài
Their parents are both alive.
More examples
毕业后，他与朋友保持联系，但其后很少见面。bì yè hòu tā yǔ péng yǒu bǎo chí lián xì dàn qí hòu hén shǎo jiàn miàn
After graduating, he kept in touch with his friends, but afterward they rarely saw each other.
Core concept
A formal pointer that identifies a person or thing as the one in question, or marks what belongs to it.
Common phrases
其中qí zhōng
among them
其后qí hòu
afterward
Similar words
他的tā de: Shows that something belongs to a man being discussed.
她的tā de: Shows that something belongs to a woman being discussed.
它的tā de: Shows that something belongs to an animal or object being discussed.
那nà: Refers to a person, thing, or matter that is over there or mentioned earlier.
Definition in Chinese
多用于书面或古文，可作指示代词表示“那个、该”，也可作第三人称的所有代词表示“他的/她的/它的”，并保留在若干固定词组中。duō yòng yú shū miàn huò gǔ wén kě zuò zhǐ shì dài cí biǎo shì nà ge gāi yě kě zuò dì sān rén chēng de suó yǒu dài cí biǎo shì tā de tā de tā de bìng bǎo liú zài ruò gān gù dìng cí zǔ zhōng
Word origin
其 (qí, "that/its") originally depicted a winnowing basket and was later borrowed as a grammatical word for pointing and possession.
Usage tips
- In everyday speech, this word rarely stands alone; ordinary spoken forms usually replace it, while it remains common in formal writing and established compounds.