tā
it
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.
牠 (tā)
it (for animals)
它 (tā)
it (for inanimate objects)
他 (tā)
he
她 (tā)
she
Track your progress, master characters, and achieve your Chinese language goals.
Get Started Free 
            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".