他

他 (tā) is the third-person singular pronoun for males — 'he' or 'him', with no case distinction (Chinese pronouns don't change form between subject and object). A few things set Chinese pronouns apart from English. First, all three third-person pronouns sound IDENTICAL — 他 (he), 她 (she), and 它 (it) are all pronounced 'tā', distinguished only in writing. In speech, you cannot tell whether someone said 'he' or 'she' without context. Second, 他 is the historically default 'unmarked' form: when gender is unknown, unspecified, or mixed (a group of both), Chinese uses 他 or 他们 (they). Third, the plural 'they' is formed simply by adding 们: 他们 (tāmen, 'they/them'). Possessive 'his' adds 的: 他的 (tā de). This pronoun is essential — you'll use it in nearly every conversation.

Memory hook: 他 = 亻 (person) + 也 (also). 'Another person' — the male default. The female 她 swaps 亻 for 女 (woman).