它们

The Chinese word 它们 (tāmen) is a third-person plural pronoun that means "they" or "them". It is composed of two characters: 它 (tā), which means "it", and 们 (men), which is a plural suffix. The character 它 is derived from the Old Chinese word *tâ, which was originally a demonstrative pronoun meaning "that". The character 们 is derived from the Old Chinese word *men, which was originally a plural suffix used to indicate that a noun was referring to more than one person or thing.The word 它们 is first attested in written Chinese in the 13th century. It quickly became the standard third-person plural pronoun in Mandarin Chinese, and it is still used today. The word 它们 is also used in some other Chinese dialects, such as Cantonese and Hokkien.In addition to its use as a third-person plural pronoun, the word 它们 can also be used as a collective noun to refer to a group of people or things. For example, the sentence 它们都很可爱 (tāmen dōu hěn kě'ài) means "They are all very cute".The word 它们 is a versatile and important word in Chinese. It is used in a variety of contexts, and it is essential for learners of Chinese to understand its meaning and usage.