他

tā

Pinyin
tā
Pinyin (Plain)
ta
Tone
1
Strokes
5
Radical
人
Readings
tātaTone: 1(third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2])Order: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 250 530 Q 287 585 330 658 Q 354 707 377 731 Q 386 743 381 756 Q 377 769 346 791 Q 318 809 299 808 Q 280 805 289 783 Q 305 752 293 724 Q 236 568 86 372 Q 76 362 74 354 Q 71 344 85 346 Q 118 355 224 495 L 250 530 Z", "M 224 495 Q 243 435 245 429 Q 244 428 245 425 Q 251 260 220 131 Q 208 80 242 41 Q 243 38 246 36 Q 262 20 274 46 Q 289 86 288 131 Q 284 393 292 451 Q 299 478 290 488 Q 266 513 250 530 C 229 552 215 524 224 495 Z", "M 468 401 Q 507 423 573 456 L 618 479 Q 672 507 742 542 Q 760 549 765 539 Q 772 526 760 488 Q 745 436 725 372 Q 715 330 687 344 Q 668 353 650 360 Q 637 364 638 356 Q 642 344 698 279 Q 717 251 737 272 Q 777 312 791 377 Q 806 434 820 491 Q 830 527 860 557 Q 873 573 858 585 Q 839 598 789 608 Q 770 612 756 599 Q 726 571 668 540 Q 646 528 621 515 L 576 493 Q 477 451 475 448 L 423 426 Q 368 405 333 393 Q 320 392 319 381 Q 318 374 361 362 Q 385 355 422 376 L 468 401 Z", "M 573 456 Q 567 368 560 302 Q 560 274 567 252 Q 573 240 582 246 Q 600 261 610 381 Q 613 432 618 479 L 621 515 Q 633 689 644 729 Q 654 748 641 761 Q 626 777 598 791 Q 576 801 552 792 Q 540 785 554 767 Q 581 713 581 592 Q 580 547 576 493 L 573 456 Z", "M 960 171 Q 944 223 938 313 Q 937 329 930 334 Q 921 340 917 319 Q 898 210 880 191 Q 838 143 661 143 Q 564 147 523 164 Q 487 183 480 207 Q 453 273 468 401 L 475 448 Q 479 479 489 498 Q 501 529 482 546 Q 431 583 416 579 Q 401 573 408 556 Q 427 519 424 463 Q 423 444 423 426 L 422 376 Q 421 240 432 203 Q 444 157 478 133 Q 548 82 789 95 Q 898 102 941 126 Q 972 139 960 171 Z"]
Meaning
“他” is a third‑person pronoun in Chinese, usually meaning “he” or “him,” and can also mean “they/them” when the gender is unknown or mixed. In some modern, informal contexts, it can be used generically for “someone else” or “other people.”
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 5/8/2026, 9:55:48 PM

Usage

他 is most commonly used as the third-person singular pronoun “he” in modern Mandarin, referring to a male person or a person whose gender is specified as male. Learners first meet it in very basic sentences like 他是老师 (“He is a teacher”) or 我喜欢他 (“I like him”). In these cases, 他 works like “he/him” in English, taking subject or object position depending on word order, not on a change of form. It’s typically one of the earliest pronouns taught, together with 我 (I) and 你 (you). In everyday written Chinese, 他 is also often used as a generic “he” when gender is unknown or not important, especially in informal contexts, texts, and older materials. Originally, 他 covered all third-person singular humans; the separate forms 她 (she, used for females) and 它 (it, for things/animals) were standardized later and are now taught alongside 他. Learners will therefore most often see 他 for “he,” but they may also encounter it as a neutral “they/that person” in colloquial writing or when the writer doesn’t distinguish gender.

Handwriting Notes

他 in handwriting is usually compact and slightly rectangular, with the left side 亻(the “person” radical) written slimmer and a bit taller than the right component 也. The two short strokes of 亻 lean slightly to the right, and the right part 也 fits neatly beside them, often a bit wider at the bottom so the whole character feels balanced and stable. In everyday writing, the lines are more curved and flowing than in printed fonts, and the bottom of 也 may look like a rounded hook or loop rather than the clear, angular shape you see in typefaces. Different writers may connect strokes more, tilt the character a little, or compress it vertically or horizontally, so beginner learners should focus on recognizing the overall silhouette: a “person” radical on the left plus a more complex, three-part block on the right. Because people’s handwriting styles vary so much—differences in stroke angle, curvature, size, and even partial joining of strokes—AI handwriting recognition systems are widely used to identify characters like 他 on phones, tablets, and scanners. These systems are trained on many handwritten samples, so they can usually recognize 他 even when the strokes are slightly distorted or stylized, as long as the basic structure (亻 on the left, 也 on the right) is preserved.

Description

他 is a common third-person pronoun in Chinese, usually meaning “he” or “him.” It can also refer generically to “they/them” or “that person” when gender is unknown or not emphasized, especially in spoken Chinese.

Common Words

  • 他ta1(third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his
  • 犹他You2 ta1Utah
  • 其他qi2 ta1other
  • 他者ta1 zhe3others
  • 他性ta1 xing4otherness

Example Sentences

我喜欢他。

wo3 xi3 huan5 ta1

I like (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his.

犹他很常见。

You2 ta1 hen3 chang2 jian4

犹他 is very common.

我们在学习其他。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 qi2 ta1

We are learning other.

这个他者很重要。

zhe4 ge5 ta1 zhe3 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This others is important.

请写一下“他”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 ta1

Please write '他'.

Try writing this character