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HSK 1

that

pronounneutral
4th tone

HSK level

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

Stroke order for 那

is written with 6 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 那 mean?

(nà) is the Chinese demonstrative for 'that' — pointing to something further from the speaker, in contrast to (zhè) 'this.'

It also functions as a conjunction meaning 'then / in that case' (那我们走吧 'then let's go'). Two things to know: first, when is followed by a noun, Chinese requires a measure word — you say 那个人 'that person,' not 那人. Second, in casual Beijing-area speech, is often pronounced 'nèi' before a measure word (那个 → nèige), and 'that one' is 那个 (nàge / nèige).

The character also reads 'nǎ' in a few older texts, but standard Mandarin keeps 'nà' for 'that' and for 'which.' appears in many high-frequency words: 那里 'there,' 那么 'so / in that way,' 那时候 'at that time.'

Example sentences

那是我的书。

Nà shì wǒ de shū.

That is my book.

neutral

那个人是谁?

Nàge rén shì shéi?

Who is that person?

spoken

我喜欢那家饭店。

Wǒ xǐhuan nà jiā fàndiàn.

I like that restaurant.

neutral

那我们明天见。

Nà wǒmen míngtiān jiàn.

Then we'll see each other tomorrow.

spoken

Common phrases with 那

那个nàge / nèigethat one
那里nàlithere
那儿nàrthere (northern speech)
那么nàmeso; in that way
那时候nà shíhouat that time

Don't confuse 那 with

(third tone) means 'which?' and adds a (mouth) radical: 哪个 'which one.' (fourth tone) means 'that.' Tone + radical tell them apart.

zhè

means 'this' (closer to speaker); means 'that' (farther). Common pair: 这个 vs 那个.

nèi

Same character — 'nèi' is the colloquial reading of before a measure word, common in northern Mandarin. Pronunciation differs; meaning does not.

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