Meaning of 它
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- it
- it (pronoun for an animal)
How to use 它
它 is used for animals, objects and ideas, and 它们 (tāmen) is the plural. It usually refers back to something already mentioned. Example: 我有一只猫，它很可爱。(Wǒ yǒu yì zhī māo, tā hěn kě'ài.) I have a cat, and it is very cute.
它 (tā) has the roof radical 宀 on top, so picture a little creature curled up under a roof. Anything that is not a person, like a pet or a thing in the house, is called 它.
Common mistake: Learners mix up 它, 他 (he) and 她 (she) in writing because all three are pronounced tā. Use 他 with the person radical 亻 for people and 它 with the roof 宀 for things and animals.
它 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.
它 tā · it · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 它.
Questions about 它
What does 它 mean?
它 (tā) means "it" and is used as a pronoun.
How do you write 它?
它 is made of 1 character: 它 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 它 an HSK word?
Yes. 它 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Do Chinese speakers use 它 as often as English speakers use it?
No. Chinese often drops 它 when the object is clear from context, especially for things. For example, 这本书很好，我买了 (Zhè běn shū hěn hǎo, wǒ mǎi le) means I bought it, with no word for it.
What does 管它 mean in everyday speech?
管它 (guǎntā) means never mind it or regardless. People say it to brush off a worry, as in 管它呢，我们走吧 (Guǎn tā ne, wǒmen zǒu ba), Forget it, let's go.