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HSK 2

它

it

pronounneutral
它
tā1st tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
tā
Part of speech
pronoun
Level
HSK 2
Strokes
5
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 它

它 is written with 5 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 它 mean?

它 (tā) is the third-person singular pronoun for non-human things — 'it.'

It belongs to a set of three homophones all pronounced tā: 他 (he), 她 (she), 它 (it). The radical at left, 宀 over 匕, distinguishes it visually; some older texts used 牠 (animal radical) for animals specifically, but modern Mandarin uses 它 for all non-humans — objects, abstract things, and animals. Important: Chinese drops 'it' far more often than English. Sentences like 'I bought a book and read it' are usually just 我买了一本书，看了 — no 它 needed.

Native speakers use 它 mainly when emphasis or clarity demands it, or when talking about beloved pets (where 牠 / 它 humanizes them). The plural is 它们 (tāmen) 'they' (for things). For groups including a mix of people and things, default to 他们.

Example sentences

这是我的猫，它叫小白。

Zhè shì wǒ de māo, tā jiào Xiǎo Bái.

This is my cat, it's called Xiao Bai.

spoken

这本书很好，你应该看看它。

Zhè běn shū hěn hǎo, nǐ yīnggāi kàn kan tā.

This book is great, you should read it.

neutral

我的手机坏了，它不能用了。

Wǒ de shǒujī huài le, tā bù néng yòng le.

My phone is broken, it doesn't work anymore.

spoken

它们是我最喜欢的两本书。

Tāmen shì wǒ zuì xǐhuan de liǎng běn shū.

They are my two favorite books.

neutral

Common phrases with 它

它们tāmenthey (for things or animals)
它的tā deits
把它bǎ tā(take) it (object marker)
给它gěi tāgive it

Synonyms

这zhè

这 ('this') is often used where English would say 'it' — to point at a specific item just mentioned. 'I bought this' = 我买了这个 (more natural than 我买了它). Chinese prefers demonstratives over the bare pronoun 它.

那nà

那 ('that') is also used in place of 它 when the referent is more distant or already known. Native speakers reach for 这/那 before 它 in everyday speech.

Don't confuse 它 with

他tā

他 is 'he' — for male humans (and the default for unknown gender or mixed groups). 它 is 'it' — for non-humans. Same sound, different character, different meaning.

她tā

她 is 'she' — for female humans. The 女 radical (woman) marks the gender. 它 has no human/animal radical — it's the catch-all for objects.

牠tā

牠 is the traditional/older form specifically for animals (uses the 牛 cow radical). Modern simplified Chinese uses 它 for both animals and inanimate things. You'll only see 牠 in some older or Taiwan-published texts.

FAQ

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