it

HSK Level 2

Example Sentences

它是一只猫。

tā shì yī zhǐ māo.

It is a cat.

它很可爱。

tā hěn kě'ài.

It is very cute.

它喜欢吃鱼。

tā xǐhuan chī yú.

It likes to eat fish.

Synonyms

(tā)

it (for animals)

(tā)

it (for inanimate objects)

Antonyms

(tā)

he

(tā)

she

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Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 它 (tā) is composed of two parts: the radical 亻(rén) and the phonetic component 他 (tā). The radical 亻(rén) represents a person, while the phonetic component 他 (tā) is a third-person pronoun meaning "he" or "she". Together, these two components form the character 它 (tā), which means "it".The character 它 (tā) was first used in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD). It was originally used as a third-person pronoun to refer to animals or inanimate objects. However, over time, its usage expanded to include people as well. Today, 它 (tā) is the most commonly used third-person pronoun in Mandarin Chinese.The character 它 (tā) is also used in some other Chinese languages and dialects, such as Cantonese and Hokkien. In Cantonese, it is pronounced as "to1". In Hokkien, it is pronounced as "tha".