它
tāpronoun★Beginner
formalinformal
A neutral pronoun used to refer to a non-human object or animal, equivalent to 'it' in English.
它在桌子上。
It is on the table.
它看起来很可爱。
It looks very cute.
💡
In Chinese, '它' is used for inanimate objects and animals, while '他' and '她' are used for male and female humans, respectively.
Collocations
它是it is它的its它在it is at/on/in
Synonyms
💡Pro Tip
Gender Neutrality
'它' is strictly for non-human referents. For humans, use '他' (male) or '她' (female).
⚡Gold Rule
Subject Pronoun
'它' functions as a subject pronoun, similar to 'it' in English.
📖Word Origin
Derived from Classical Chinese demonstrative pronouns, '它' was standardized in modern Chinese to specifically denote neutral gender for non-human entities.
📝Usage Notes
'它' is the only neutral pronoun in Chinese for non-human referents. Unlike English, Chinese does not use 'it' for humans, which would require '他' (he) or '她' (she).
汉英词典