Chinese pronouns and question words

October 3, 2026 · 8 min read

Chinese pronouns never change their form. English has "I" and "me", "he" and "him", "they" and "them"; Chinese has one word for each pair: 我 is "I", "me" and, with one small particle, "my" too. The plural takes a single syllable, and question words stay right where the answer goes. Below are all the pronouns of the first HSK levels and the rules they follow.

Personal pronouns in Chinese

• 我wǒI, me
• 你nǐyouone person
• 您nínyoupolite, to one person
• 他tāhe, him
• 她tāshe, her
• 它tāitan animal, a thing

"He", "she" and "it" sound exactly the same: tā. They differ only in writing: 他 has the "person" component on the left, 她 has "woman". In conversation, who you mean is clear from the context. That's also why Chinese speakers sometimes mix up "he" and "she" in English: in spoken Chinese there's no difference to hear.

English has no everyday polite "you", but Chinese does: 您 is for a teacher, a client, an older person. It is how you address someone formally, a bit like "sir" or "ma'am" built into the pronoun. With friends and people your age, 你 is the norm.

What a pronoun does in a sentence is shown by its place, not its form. Before the verb 我 is "I", after the verb it is "me": 我爱你 is "I love you", 你爱我 is "you love me". No "I" versus "me" to choose between.

• 您贵姓？nínguìxìngMay I ask your surname?
• 我爱你wǒàinǐI love you.

The plural: 们

Add 们 men — plural suffix to a pronoun and you get "we", "you" (plural) and "they". Unlike English, Chinese keeps singular and plural "you" apart: 你 is one person, 你们 is "you all", "you guys". For a mixed group of men and women you write 他们.

• 我们wǒmenwe, us
• 你们nǐmenyoumore than one person
• 他们tāmenthey, them
• 她们tāmentheywomen only
• 它们tāmentheyanimals, things
• 咱们zánmenweyou and me

• 他们是老师tāmenshìlǎoshīThey are teachers.
• 你们是哪国人？nǐmenshìnǎguórénWhich country are you from?
• 我很喜欢它们wǒhěnxǐhuantāmenI really like them.

咱们 vs 我们: with the listener or without

English "we" is ambiguous: "we're going to the movies" may or may not include the person you're talking to. Chinese has a word that settles it. 咱们 is "we, you and me": the listener is always part of it. 我们 is broader: it may include the listener or not, as in "we're going, but you're not". 咱们 is colloquial and heard most in northern China; 我们 works in any situation.

• 咱们走吧zánmenzǒubaLet's go.
• 我们是学生wǒmenshìxuéshengWe are students.

Possessives: 我的, 你的, 他的

There are no separate words for "my", "your", "his". You add the particle 的 de — possessive particle, like 's to the pronoun: 我的 is "my" or "mine", 你的 is "your" or "yours", 他们的 is "their" or "theirs". It works just like English "'s": 老师的书 is "the teacher's book".

• 这是我的杯子。zhèshìwǒdebēiziThis is my cup.
• 我的书在桌子上wǒdeshūzàizhuōzishangMy book is on the table.
• 那本书是谁的？nàběnshūshìshéideWhose book is that?

Before words for close people, 的 is usually dropped: 我妈妈 is "my mom", 我朋友 is "my friend". The same goes for places that are "yours": 我家 is "my home", 我们公司 is "our company".

• 这是我妈妈。zhèshìwǒmāmaThis is my mom.
• 他是我朋友tāshìwǒpéngyouHe is my friend.
• 我哥哥上高中。wǒgēgeshànggāozhōngMy older brother is in high school.

This, that and which: 这, 那 and 哪

这 zhè — this is for what's close, 那 nà — that is for what's further away. 哪 nǎ — which asks about either; it differs from 那 by its tone and by the "mouth" component on the left. Before a noun there's one thing English doesn't have: a measure word goes between "this" or "that" and the noun. 这个人 is "this person", 那本书 is "that book".

• 这个zhègethis one
• 那个nàgethat one
• 哪个nǎgewhich one
• 这些zhèxiēthese
• 那些nàxiēthose
• 这儿zhèrhere
• 那儿nàrthere
• 哪儿nǎrwhere

"Here", "there" and "where" come in two versions: 这儿, 那儿, 哪儿 and 这里, 那里, 哪里. The meaning is the same; the first set is more common in the north.

• 这个多少钱？zhègeduōshaoqiánHow much is this?
• 那个人是谁nàgerénshìshéiWho is that person?
• 你要哪个nǐyàonǎgeWhich one do you want?

Question words in Chinese

• 谁shéiwho, whom
• 什么shénmewhat, what kind
• 哪儿nǎrwhere
• 什么时候shénmeshíhouwhen
• 怎么zěnmehow
• 怎么样zěnmeyànghow is it, how about
• 为什么wèishénmewhy
• 多少duōshaohow many, how much
• 几jǐhow manywhen you expect a small number

This is where Chinese is easier than English. In English the question word jumps to the front and the sentence needs "do" or a swapped word order: "Who are you looking for?" In Chinese nothing moves. The question word stands exactly where the answer will be: 你找谁？ — 我找王老师, literally "you look for who?" — "I look for Teacher Wang". The question and the answer have the same word order, and the particle 吗 isn't used in such a question.

• 你找谁？nǐzhǎoshéiWho are you looking for?
• 你住在哪儿？nǐzhùzàinǎrWhere do you live?
• 你什么时候回来？nǐshénmeshíhouhuíláiWhen will you be back?
• 你怎么去？nǐzěnmeqùHow are you getting there?
• 你为什么学汉语？nǐwèishénmexuéHànyǔWhy are you learning Chinese?
• 今天天气怎么样？jīntiāntiānqìzěnmeyàngWhat's the weather like today?

几 vs 多少: two ways to ask "how many"

几 asks about a small number, usually under ten, and needs a measure word after it: 几个, 几口人. It's also how you ask about time and dates: 几点 is "what time is it", 几号 is "what's the date". 多少 works for any amount, and the measure word after it can be left out: 多少钱 is "how much does it cost". English draws the line elsewhere, between "how many" and "how much"; Chinese doesn't care whether you can count the thing, only how big the number is.

• 你家有几口人nǐjiāyǒujǐkǒurénHow many people are there in your family?
• 现在几点xiànzàijǐdiǎnWhat time is it now?
• 这些书多少钱zhèxiēshūduōshaoqiánHow much are these books?

"Everyone" and "everything": question word + 都

A question word isn't always a question. Together with 都 dōu — all, without exception it means "any", "every": 谁都 is "anyone, everyone", 什么都 is "anything, everything".

• 谁都喜欢她。shéidōuxǐhuantāEveryone likes her.
• 他什么都吃。tāshénmedōuchīHe eats everything.

自己: myself, yourself, himself

English needs a different word for every person: myself, yourself, himself, themselves. Chinese has one: 自己. After a pronoun it adds emphasis: 我自己 is "I myself", "on my own". In the object position it points the action back at whoever does it. The person doesn't matter: for "I", "you" and "he" it's the same 自己.

• 我自己去wǒzìjǐqùI'll go by myself.
• 我对自己有信心wǒduìzìjǐyǒuxìnxīnI'm confident in myself.
• 请你介绍一下自己。qǐngnǐjièshàoyíxiàzìjǐPlease introduce yourself.

Two more words worth learning alongside it: 大家 dàjiā — everyone, everybody and 别人 biérén — other people.