Meaning of 他们
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- they; them
How to use 他们
他们 is the everyday word for they or them when talking about people, and it works as both subject and object with no change in form. It is also the default for mixed groups of men and women. Example: 他们是我的朋友。(Tāmen shì wǒ de péngyou.) They are my friends.
他 (tā) has the person radical 亻 on the left, so it means a person, he. Add the plural marker 们 (men), which also has 亻, and one person becomes a group of people: they.
Common mistake: Learners often write 她们 for any group or 它们 for people. Use 她们 only for an all-female group, 它们 for animals or things, and 他们 for people in general or mixed groups. In speech they all sound the same, tāmen, so the difference only shows in writing.
他们 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
他 tā · he · 5 strokes
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们 men · plural marker for pronouns · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 他们.
| 我们 | wǒmen | we; us; ourselves |
| 你们 | nǐmen | you (plural) |
| 她们 | tāmen | they; them (females) |
| 朋友们 | péngyoumen | |
| 它们 | tāmen | they; them |
| 其他 | qítā | other; (sth or sb) else |
| 人们 | rénmen | people |
| 咱们 | zánmen | we or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to); (dialect) I or me |
| 他人 | tārén | another person; sb else; other people |
| 吉他 | jítā | (loanword) guitar |
| 他妈的 | tāmāde | (taboo curse) damn it!; fucking |
| 哥们 | gēmen | (coll.) dude; buddy; bro |
Questions about 他们
What does 他们 mean?
他们 (tāmen) means "they; them" and is used as a pronoun.
How do you write 他们?
他们 is made of 2 characters: 他 (5 strokes), 们 (5 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 他们 an HSK word?
Yes. 他们 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 他们 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 他们 is written 他們.
How do you say their in Chinese?
Add 的 (de) after 他们 to make 他们的 (tāmen de), their or theirs. Before close relationships or a group they belong to, 的 is often dropped, as in 他们家 (tāmen jiā), their family.
Is the 们 in 他们 pronounced with a tone?
In 他们, 们 is said in the neutral tone, light and short: tā men. Do not stress it or give it the second tone it has when read alone as mén.