In this #SkritterChineseTips post, we teach all the different forms of tā. This can mean he/she/it (objects + animals) as well a pronoun for gods and spirits! While they might all sound the same, they each have their own unique character. However, if in doubt, you can always use the basic 他 character which is used for men but is also neutral. ♂️♀️🐶✏️✝️⠀
Click through the gallery below to learn more about each one.
他 is the most common. It means he or him, but is also gender-neutral. So if the gender is not important, or not know, this is the one to use.
It’s also used for the plural pronoun, they or them: 他们 tāmen.
她 contains the female or “daughter” radical and therefore means she.
For objects and pets, 它 is most common. It means It. It doesn’t matter the gender of your pet, one still uses 它.
You may also come across 牠, which specifically refers to animals. It has a cow radical on the left, hinting at its meaning. This is far less common than 它.
If you are hanging around temples or reading religious texts, you may also see 祂. This refers to deities and is equivalent to He in Abrahamic religions.
Here is a single page summary for you:
We hope you enjoyed this post. It started life as an Instagram mini-lesson and then morphed into a YouTube video and now lives as a blog post.