Chinese pronouns
Chinese pronouns[a] are pronouns in the Chinese languages. This article highlights Mandarin Chinese pronouns. There are also Cantonese pronouns and Hokkien pronouns.
Chinese pronouns differ somewhat from English pronouns and those of other Indo-European languages. For instance, there is no differentiation in the spoken language between "he", "she" and "it" (though a written difference was introduced after contact with the West), and pronouns are not inflected to indicate whether they are the subject or object of a sentence. Mandarin Chinese further lacks a distinction between the possessive adjective ("my") and possessive pronoun ("mine"); both are formed by appending the particle 的 de. Pronouns in Chinese are often substituted by honorific alternatives.
Personal pronouns
[edit]In Mandarin
[edit]| Person | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 我 wǒ I, me |
我们 / 我們* wǒmen we, us |
咱们 / 咱們† zánmen we, us (inclusive) | |
| 2nd | 你 nǐ thou, you (informal) |
您 nín you (formal) |
你们 / 你們 nǐmen you (generic) |
您 nín you (formal) |
| 3rd | 他, 她, 它 tā he, him / she, her / it |
他们 / 他們, 她们 / 她們, 它们 / 它們 tāmen they, them | ||
- * 我们 / 我們 can be either inclusive or exclusive, depending on the circumstance where it is used.
- † 咱们 / 咱們 is mainly used by northern speakers.
Following the iconoclastic May Fourth Movement in 1919, and to accommodate the translation of Western literature, written vernacular Chinese developed separate pronouns for gender-differentiated speech, and to address animals, deities, and inanimate objects.
This can be traced back to colonialism and Western-oriented linguistics in the early 1900s, where Eurocentric standardization of language and culture emerged to purify and create "effective governance.”[1] English was seen as progressive, while Chinese was characterized as a delayed language.[2] Before written Chinese, spoken Chinese did not differentiate between genders in regard to pronouns. Written Chinese was only relevant to the public under imperial decrees, and literacy was a privilege that ordinary citizens rarely had access to, due to Confucianist ideals.[3] There was an assumption that alphabetic literacy was superior in nature, and the assimilation of the Chinese language was initiated by Catholic missionaries from the West.[4] During the transition from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, the modern nation urgently moved to adopt European ideologies[5], which translated to culture and linguistics.
“The focus on building a unified state was a driver in standardizing the Chinese language, which largely pushed Putonghua to be the dominant dialect. On the other hand, China’s minority languages suffered a huge blow—with diversity and culture being eradicated in the name of assimilation.[6] Language standardization, thus, became the norm as it was seen as a positive and rational step towards industrialization. [7]
Throughout the 1920s, a debate continued between three camps: those that preferred to preserve the preexisting use of 他 without distinction between genders, those that wished to preserve the spoken non-gendered pronoun but introduce a new female pronoun 她 in writing, and those that wished to introduce a differently pronounced female pronoun 伊. The pronoun 伊 enjoyed widespread support in the 1920s and 1930s but lost out to 她 after the Chinese Civil War.[8] Currently, written pronouns are divided between the masculine human 他 (he, him), feminine human 她 (she, her), and non-human 它 (it), and similarly in the plural. This distinction does not exist in the spoken language, where moreover tā is restricted to animate reference; inanimate entities are usually referred to with demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (这/這 zhè) and 'that' (那 nà).[9]
Other, rarer new written pronouns in the second person are nǐ (祢 "you, a deity"), nǐ (你 "you, a male"), and nǐ (妳 "you, a female"). In the third person, they are tā (牠 "it, an animal"), tā (祂 "it, a deity"), and tā (它 "it, an inanimate object"). Among users of traditional Chinese characters, these distinctions are only made in Taiwanese Mandarin; in simplified Chinese, tā (它) is the only third-person non-human form and nǐ (你) is the only second person form. The third person distinction between "he" (他) and "she" (她) remain in use in all forms of written standard Mandarin.[10]
In the early 21st century, some members of genderfluid and queer Chinese online communities started using X也 and TA to refer to a generic, anonymous, or non-binary third person.[11] As of June 2022, neither have been encoded as a single code point in Unicode,[12] and neither are considered standard usage. Since at least 2014, Bilibili has used TA in its user pages.[13]
Additional notes
[edit]- The first-person pronouns 俺 ǎn and 偶 ǒu "I" are infrequently used in Mandarin conversation. They are of dialectal origin. However, their usage is gaining popularity among the young, most notably in online communications.
- According to Wang Li, the second person formal pronoun nín (您 "you, formal; polite") is derived from the fusion of the second person plural nǐmen (你们 "you, formal; polite"), making it somewhat analogous to the T-V distinction in Romance languages. Consistent with this hypothesized origin, *nínmen is traditionally considered to be a grammatically incorrect expression for the formal second person plural. Instead, the alternative phrases dàjiā (大家, "you, formal plural") and gèwèi (各位, "you, formal plural") are used, with the latter being somewhat more formal than the former. In addition, some dialects use an analogous formal third person pronoun tān (怹, "he/she, formal; polite").
- Traditional Chinese characters, as influenced by translations from Western languages and the Bible in the nineteenth century, occasionally distinguished gender in pronouns, although that distinction is abandoned in simplified Characters. Those traditional characters developed after Western contact include both masculine and feminine forms of "you" (你 and 妳). In the simplified system, 妳 is rare.
In other Sinitic languages
[edit]There are many other pronouns in modern Sinitic languages, such as Taiwanese Hokkien 恁 (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lín) "you" and Written Cantonese 佢哋 (keúih deih) "they." There exist many more pronouns in Classical Chinese and in literary works, including 汝 (rǔ) or 爾 (ěr) for "you", and 吾 (wú) for "I" (see Chinese honorifics). They are not routinely encountered in colloquial speech.
| Historical | Modern | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shang and early Zhou period[14][15] | Classical Chinese[16][15] | Northern and Southern dynasties period and Tang dynasty[17] | Standard Chinese (Mandarin Chinese) | Shanghainese (Wu Chinese) | Hokkien (Min Chinese)[18] | Meixian Hakka (Hakka Chinese)[19][20] | Cantonese (Yue Chinese) | ||
| Singular | 1. | 余 *la, 予 *laʔ, 朕 *lrəmʔ | 我 *ŋˤajʔ, 吾 *ŋˤa (subjective and possessive only), 余 *la, 予 *laʔ | 我 ngaX, 吾 ngu | 我 wǒ | 吾 ŋu˩˧ | 我 góa, óa | 𠊎 ŋai11 | 我 ŋɔː˩˧ |
| 2. | 汝/女 *naʔ, 乃 *nˤəʔ | 爾 *neʔ, 汝/女 *naʔ, 而 *nə, 若 *nak | 爾 nejX, 汝/女 nyoX, 你 nejX | 你 nǐ | 儂 noŋ˩˧ | 汝 lí, lír, lú | 你 n11, ŋ11, ɲi11 | 你 nei˩˧ | |
| 3. | 厥 *kot (possessive), 之 *tə (objective), 其 *gə (possessive),
third person subject pronoun did not exist |
之 *tə (objective), 其 *gə (possessive), third person subject pronoun did not exist | 其 gi, 渠 gjo; 伊 ’jij, 之 tsyi, 他 tha | 他, 她, 它 tā | 伊 ɦi˩˧ | 伊 i | 佢 ɡi11, i11 | 佢 kʰɵy˩˧ | |
| Plural | 1. | 我 *ŋˤajʔ | same as singular | Singular + 等 tongX, 曹 dzaw, 輩 pwojH |
Both INCL. and EXCL. 我們 wǒmen INCL. 咱們 zánmen |
阿拉 ɐʔ˧ lɐʔ˦ | EXCL. 阮 goán, gún, ún INCL. 咱 lán | EXCL. 𠊎兜/𠊎等 ŋai11 deu24/ŋai11 nen24 INCL. 這兜/大家 en24 ia31 deu24/en24 tai55 ga24 |
我哋 ŋɔː˩˧ tei˨ |
| 2. | 爾 *neʔ | 你們 nǐmen | 㑚 na˩˧ | 恁 lín | 你兜/你等 ŋ11 deu24/ŋ11 nen24 | 你哋 nei˩˧ tei˨ | |||
| 3. | (not used) | 他們, 她們, 它們 tāmen | 伊拉 ɦi˩ lɐʔ˧ | 𪜶 in | 佢兜/佢等 ɡi11 deu24/i11 nen24 | 佢哋 kʰɵy˩˧ tei˨ | |||
Possessives
[edit]To indicate alienable possession, 的 (de) is appended to the pronoun. For inalienable possession, such as family and entities very close to the owner, this may be omitted, e.g. 我妈/我媽 (wǒ mā) "my mother". For older generations, 令 (lìng) is the equivalent to the modern form 您的 (nínde), as in 令尊 (lìngzūn) "your father". In literary style, 其 (qí) is sometimes used for "his" or "her" or as a gender-neutral pronoun; e.g. 其父 means "his father" or "her father".
In Cantonese, for possessive, 嘅 (ge3) is appended to the pronoun. It is used in the same way as 的 in Mandarin.
In Taiwanese Hokkien, possessive pronouns are homophonous with plural pronouns. For example, 恁 (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lín) can mean either "your" or "you (plural)".
Demonstrative pronouns
[edit]The demonstrative pronouns work the same as in English.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Proximal | 这个 / 這個 zhège this |
这些 / 這些 zhèxiē these |
| Distal | 那个 / 那個 nàge that |
那些 nàxiē those |
The distinction between singular and plural are made by the classifier 个/個 (gè) and 些 (xiē), and the following nouns remain the same. Usually inanimate objects are referred using these pronouns rather than the personal pronouns 它 (tā) and 它們 (tāmen). Traditional forms of these pronouns are: 這個 (zhège), 這些 (zhèxiē), 那個 (nàge), and 那些 (nàxiē).
Interrogative pronouns
[edit]| Pronoun | Alternative HÉ-system | English |
|---|---|---|
| 谁 / 誰 shéi |
何人 hérén (what person) |
who |
| 哪个 / 哪個 nǎge |
何个 / 何個 hége (what one) |
which one |
| 什麼 / 什么 shénme |
何 何物 hé / héwù (what) |
what |
| 哪裡 / 哪里 nǎlǐ 哪兒 / 哪儿 nǎr |
何处 / 何處 héchù 何地 hédì (what location) |
where |
| 什麼時候 / 什么时候 shénme shíhou |
何时 / 何時 héshí (what time) |
when |
| 为什么 / 為什麼 wèi shénme |
爲何 / 為何 wèihé (for what) |
why |
| 怎么 / 怎麼 zěnme |
如何 rúhé (what to follow) |
how |
| 多少 duōshǎo 几 / 幾 jǐ |
几何 / 幾何 jǐhé (what the amount) |
how much |
Indefinite pronouns
[edit]| Pronoun | English |
|---|---|
| 大家 dàjiā | everyone |
| 谁都 shéidōu | |
| 谁也 shéiyě | anybody |
| 谁都不 shéidōubù | no one |
| 谁也不 shéiyěbù | nobody |
Pronouns in imperial times
[edit] |
- See also Chinese honorifics.
In imperial times, the pronoun for "I" was commonly omitted when speaking politely or to someone with higher social status. "I" was usually replaced with special pronouns to address specific situations. Examples include guǎrén (寡人) during early Chinese history and zhèn (朕) after the Qin dynasty when the Emperor is speaking to his subjects. When the subjects speak to the Emperor, they address themselves as chén (臣), or "your official". It was extremely impolite and taboo to address the Emperor as "you" or to refer to oneself as "I".
In modern times, the practice of self-deprecatory terms is still used in specific formal situations. In résumés, the term guì (贵/貴; lit. noble) is used for "you" and "your"; e.g., guì gōngsī (贵公司/貴公司) refers to "your company". Běnrén (本人; lit. this person) is used to refer to oneself.
See also
[edit]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Wan, Defu (1 October 2014). "The History of Language Planning and Reform in China: A Critical Perspective" (5).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Wan, Defu (1 October 2014). "The History of Language Planning and Reform in China: A Critical Perspective" (5).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Wan, Defu (1 October 2014). "The History of Language Planning and Reform in China: A Critical Perspective" (5).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Shih, Hu (1 July 1951). "Nationalism and Language Reform in China. By John De Francis. (Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1950. Pp. xi, 306. $4.00.)". The American Historical Review. 56 (4): 897–899. doi:10.1086/ahr/56.4.897. ISSN 1937-5239.
- ^ Wan, Defu (1 October 2014). "The History of Language Planning and Reform in China: A Critical Perspective" (5).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Zhou, Minglang; Ross, Heidi A. (2004), Zhou, Minglang; Sun, Hongkai (eds.), "Introduction: The Context of the Theory and Practice of China's Language Policy", Language Policy in the People’s Republic of China, vol. 4, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 1–18, doi:10.1007/1-4020-8039-5_1, ISBN 978-1-4020-8038-8, retrieved 21 May 2025
- ^ Silverstein, Michael (20 February 2018), Brenneis, Donald; Macaulay, Ronald K.S. (eds.), "Monoglot "Standard" in America: Standardization and Metaphors of Linguistic Hegemony", The Matrix of Language (1 ed.), Routledge, pp. 284–306, doi:10.4324/9780429496288-18, ISBN 978-0-429-49628-8, retrieved 21 May 2025
- ^ Zhang, Yun. "A Cultural History of the Chinese Character "Ta (She)"—On the invention and identification of a new female pronoun | Harvard-Yenching Institute". Harvard-Yenching Institute. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ Sun, pp. 166–167.
- ^ Shei, Chris (2019). The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Discourse Analysis. Routledge. p. 200.
- ^ "他/TA/X也: What Pronouns Do Chinese Queer People Use?". RADII | Stories from the center of China’s youth culture. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Unicode 14.0.0". www.unicode.org. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "bishi的空间" (in Chinese). 24 October 2014. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014.
- ^ Laurent Sagart: The Roots of Old Chinese. (Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science, Series IV, Volume 184) John Benjamins, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 1999. ISBN 90-272-3690-9, S. 142–147; W. A. C. H. Dobson: Early Archaic Chinese. A Descriptive Grammar. University of Toronto Press, Toronto 1962, S. 112–114.
- ^ a b Ancient Chinese reconstructions according to Baxter and Sagart Archived 27 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Note: The specified forms represent only a small selection.
- ^ Note: Middle Chinese pronunciations given in Baxter's notation.
- ^ Shi, Q.-S. (2016). Personal Pronouns in Southern Min Dialect. In P.-H. Ting et al. (Eds.). New Horizons in the Study of Chinese: Dialectology, Grammar, and Philology (pp. 181–190). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.
- ^ Mataro J. Hashimoto: The Hakka Dialect. A linguistic study of Its Phonology, Syntax and Lexicon. University Press, Cambridge 1973. ISBN 0-521-20037-7
- ^ Hakka Affairs Council. (2017). Vocabulary Words for the Hakka Proficiency Test: Elementary (Sixian Dialect) [客語能力認證基本辭彙-初級(四縣腔)]. Retrieved from https://elearning.hakka.gov.tw/ver2015
Bibliography
[edit]- Kane, Daniel (2006). The Chinese Language: Its History and Usage. North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle. ISBN 0-8048-3853-4. OCLC 77522617.
- Sun, Chaofen (2006). Chinese: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 166–169. ISBN 0-521-82380-3. OCLC 70671780.
- Yip, Po-Ching; Rimmington, Don (2004). Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar. London; New York: Routledge. pp. 47–58. ISBN 978-0-415-15031-6. OCLC 52178249.