Personal pronoun
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- Also known as: 人称代词 (rénchēng dàicí).
Personal pronouns include 我 (wǒ), 你 (nǐ), 他 (tā), and 她 (tā). To make them plural, all you need to do is add the suffix -们 (-men) to it. Additionally, there is a polite second person form 您 (nín), but it cannot take the -们 (-men) suffix.
When referring to a group, 他们 (tāmen) refers to a group of all males or a mixed group. 她们 (tāmen) refers to a group of females. Note that this is only important while writing, because otherwise they are pronounced the same. When referring to a group in first-person (i.e. we), there are two constructions in Chinese: 我们 (wǒmen) and 咱们 (zánmen). The former is may exclude the listener, while the latter always includes them.
When making reflexive sentences (sentences with himself, myself, etc.), you have to add 自己 (zìjǐ) after the personal pronoun. This is sort of the "self" marker.
Examples
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| I | 我 | wǒ |
| you | 你 | nǐ |
| he | 他 | tā |
| she | 她 | tā |
All of the above can then add the suffix "-们" to them to make the plural: 我们 (we), 你们 (you all), 他们 (they), 她们 (they).
Adding the phrase "自己" gives you: 我自己 (myself), 你自己 (yourself), 他自己 (himself), 她自己 (herself), 我们自己 (ourselves), etc.
