Chinese word

它

Pronunciation

Pinyintā

Meaning

  • pronounit

Example

那只球坏了，它不能用了。nà zhǐ qiú huài le tā bù néng yòng le

That ball is broken, so it can't be used anymore.

Illustration for 它 (it)

More examples

我和它一起去公园。wǒ hé tā yì qǐ qù gōng yuán

I go to the park with it.

Core concept

A neutral stand-in that keeps a previously mentioned thing, idea, or animal in focus.

Common phrases

  • 它的tā de

    its

  • 和它一起hé tā yì qǐ

    with it

  • 看到它kàn dào tā

    see it

Similar words

他tā: Stands for a male person already mentioned or understood from context.
她tā: Stands for a female person already mentioned or understood from context.
这zhè: Points to something close to the speaker or to the current matter.
那nà: Points to something away from the speaker or to an earlier matter.

Definition in Chinese

用作第三人称代词，替代前文或语境中出现的无生命物、抽象概念或不特指性别的动物，表示中性指示。yòng zuò dì sān rén chēng dài cí tì dài qián wén huò yǔ jìng zhōng chū xiàn de wú shēng mìng wù chōu xiàng gài niàn huò bú tè zhǐ xìng bié de dòng wù biǎo shì zhōng xìng zhǐ shì

Word origin

它 (tā, "it") first represented a snake and later developed a neutral pronoun use for nonhuman referents.

Usage tips

  • In writing, the character choice carries information that speech leaves out, so nearby nouns are important when several referents are possible.

Related words

Word lists with this word