其他
other; the rest
qítā
What does 其他 mean?
其他 (qítā) means 'other' or 'the rest' — it refers to people, things, or items beyond those already mentioned. It functions as a pronoun and a determiner: 其他人 ('other people'), 其他东西 ('other things'), 其他的 ('the others'). Two important rules for English speakers: first, 其他 normally needs a noun or 的 after it — 'the others' is 其他的, not bare 其他 in most spoken contexts. Second, when counting, you often add a measure word: 其他三个 ('the other three [items]'), 其他几位 ('the other [few] people, polite'). 其他 is interchangeable with 其它 in writing — 其它 historically referred to non-human things, but modern usage has merged them, and 其他 is now standard for both. Common pattern: 还有其他问题吗？('Are there any other questions?').
Character breakdown
its; that; (formal pronoun)
he; (here used as generic 'other')
Memory hook: 其 (that) + 他 (he/other) = 'that other one' = the rest.
Example sentences
还有其他问题吗？
Hái yǒu qítā wèntí ma?
Are there any other questions?
neutral
其他人都去了。
Qítā rén dōu qù le.
Everyone else went.
spoken
我不喜欢这个，给我看看其他的。
Wǒ bù xǐhuan zhège, gěi wǒ kànkan qítā de.
I don't like this one — show me the others.
spoken
除了北京，他还去过其他城市。
Chúle Běijīng, tā hái qùguo qítā chéngshì.
Besides Beijing, he's also been to other cities.
neutral
你有其他办法吗？
Nǐ yǒu qítā bànfǎ ma?
Do you have other ideas / methods?
spoken
Common phrases with 其他
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
其他 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
别的 also means 'other / something else' but is more colloquial and often more open-ended. 'Do you want anything else?' = 你要别的吗？ feels casual; 其他东西 is more neutral / slightly more formal.
其余 means 'the remainder / what is left' — emphasizes the leftover portion. 其他 means 'other [items beyond the ones named].' 'The rest of the money' = 其余的钱; 'other money' = 其他的钱.
Don't confuse 其他 with
其实 means 'actually / in fact,' an adverb. 其他 means 'other,' a pronoun. They share 其 but are unrelated. 其实我不知道 = actually I don't know; 其他人不知道 = other people don't know.
另外 means 'additionally / besides / another' — often signals adding a new item or topic. 其他 picks out the remaining items from a set. 'Another question' = 另外一个问题; 'other questions' = 其他问题.
其它 is a written variant of 其他, historically reserved for non-human things. Modern style guides recommend 其他 for everything. Treat them as the same word.