🇨🇳 CHINESE · HSK 1

Chinese – Batch 10

我 · 你 · 他 · 她 · 们 · Reading · Listening · Writing

What is Pinyin? Pinyin is the official romanisation system for Mandarin Chinese. Every syllable has a tone — the same syllable said in a different tone is a completely different word. There are four tones plus a neutral tone:
1st (ā) — high & level | 2nd (á) — rising, like a question | 3rd (ǎ) — dip then rise | 4th (à) — sharp fall | Neutral (a) — light, unstressed
In exercises you may type tone marks (rén) or tone numbers (ren2) — both are accepted.

📋 Pinyin Quick Reference

Characters in this batch — type either form in exercises:

wo3 → wǒ

ni3 → nǐ

ta1 → tā

men → men

🔊 Hear all 5 tones — same syllable "wo", five different meanings:

wō Tone 1 — level 窝 · nest/den

wó Tone 2 — rising 倭 · (uncommon)

wǒ Tone 3 — dip-rise ★ 我 · I / me

wò Tone 4 — falling 握 · to grasp/hold

women Neutral — unstressed 我们 · we/us

★ = used in this batch | Neutral: 们 is always unstressed — a light, quick syllable with no tone.

Tone	Number	Mark (a)	Mark (e)	Mark (i)	Mark (u)
1st — high level	1	ā	ē	ī	ū
2nd — rising	2	á	é	í	ú
3rd — dip-rise	3	ǎ	ě	ǐ	ǔ
4th — falling	4	à	è	ì	ù
Neutral	5 or 0	a	e	i	u

💡 On most keyboards, tone marks are hard to type — use the number form (wo3, ni3, ta1) in exercises. Both are always accepted.

Progress: 0 / 4 exercises completed

A — Flashcard Practice

Click the card to reveal pinyin, meaning, and stroke count. Use the audio button to hear the pronunciation.

我

HSK 1

Tap to flip

1 / 9

B — Listen & Identify

Press the speaker button to hear a character pronounced. Choose the correct character from the four options.

C — Meaning Match

Look at the character. Choose the correct English meaning.

D — Reading in Context

Pinyin is shown for each sentence — type the missing pinyin in the blank. Press the audio button to hear the sentence, then repeat aloud.

🔊 Tip: Press Hear sentence, listen carefully, then say the full sentence out loud. Type the missing pinyin (tone mark or number form).

E — Stroke Count

How many strokes does each character take to write? Type the number. Tip: close your eyes and trace each character in your head — count how many times your pen lifts off the paper. Each unbroken line = one stroke.

我 wǒ — I / me

我 looks like a warrior holding a halberd (戈) — the shape conveys 'I stand here, asserting my presence.' Despite its complex appearance, 我 flows naturally with practice. KEY GRAMMAR: ⚠️ Third-tone sandhi: when two third tones meet, the first changes to 2nd tone. 你好 (nǐ hǎo) → ní hǎo. 我好 (wǒ hǎo) → wó hǎo in natural speech.

Tone 3 (上声 shǎngshēng) — the dip-and-rise.

我们wǒ menwe / us
我的wǒ demy / mine
我是wǒ shìI am

Wǒ shì lǎo shī.

我是老师。

I am a teacher.

Wǒ men yī qǐ qù ba.

我们一起去吧。

Let's go together.

你 nǐ — you

你 = 亻(person) + 尔 (classical 'you'). Person + classical you = modern you. ⚠️ KEY SANDHI: 你好 → ní hǎo (3rd + 3rd = 2nd + 3rd). This is the FIRST sandhi rule you'll use every single day — 你好 is the most common greeting in Chinese!

Tone 3 (上声 shǎngshēng) — the dip-and-rise. Before another 3rd tone, changes to 2nd tone (sandhi).

你好nǐ hǎohello
你们nǐ menyou (plural)
谢谢你xiè xie nǐthank you

Nǐ hǎo!

你好！

Hello!

Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?

你是哪国人？

What country are you from?

他 tā — he / him

他 = 亻(person) + 也 (also). 'Also a person' = the third party. KEY FACT: 他 and 她 are IDENTICAL in speech (both tā, Tone 1) — distinguished ONLY in writing. In spoken Chinese, gender of third person is often ambiguous. Native speakers sometimes 'misgender' in speech — this is normal and not considered rude.

Tone 1 (阴平 yīnpíng) — high and level. Identical in sound to 她 (she).

他们tā menthey / them (mixed/masc.)
他的tā dehis
他是tā shìhe is

Tā shì wǒ de péng you.

他是我的朋友。

He is my friend.

Tā men dōu lái le.

他们都来了。

They all came.

她 tā — she / her

她 = 女 (woman) + 也 (also). 'Also a woman' = she. HISTORY: 她 was INVENTED in the 1920s by Chinese writers trying to represent the English distinction between 'he' and 'she' in writing. Before that, 他 was used for all genders. This links back to the 女 radical — notice it on the left side.

Tone 1 (阴平 yīnpíng) — high and level. Identical in sound to 他 (he).

她们tā menthey (feminine)
她的tā deher / hers
她是tā shìshe is

Tā hěn piào liang.

她很漂亮。

She is very pretty.

Tā men dōu shì xué sheng.

她们都是学生。

They are all students.

们 men — plural marker

们 = 亻(person) + 门 (gate/door). People gathering at the gate = a group/plural. RULES: ① 们 NEVER stands alone. ② Only attaches to person-pronouns (我们, 你们, 他们) — learn pronoun + 们 as essential vocabulary. ③ Always NEUTRAL TONE — no stress, very light pronunciation.

Neutral tone (轻声 qīngshēng) — always unstressed. No tone mark. Type "men" in exercises (no number needed).

我们wǒ menwe / us
你们nǐ menyou (plural)
他们tā menthey (mixed/masc.)

Wǒ men qù chī fàn.

我们去吃饭。

Let's go eat.

Nǐ men hǎo!

你们好！

Hello everyone!

Tone System

Tone	Mark	Number	Chinese	Description	Batch example
1st	ā	1	阴平	High, flat, held steady	tā (他/她)
2nd	á	2	阳平	Rising — like "Really?"	—
3rd	ǎ	3	上声	Dip then rise — lowest tone	wǒ (我), nǐ (你)
4th	à	4	去声	Sharp falling — like "No!"	—
Neutral	a	5 / 0	轻声	Short, unstressed	men (们)

⚠️ Special Notes for This Batch

• 他 and 她 are both pronounced tā (Tone 1) — identical in speech. Only the written form differs.
• Third-tone sandhi: two consecutive 3rd tones → the first changes to 2nd tone. 你好 → ní hǎo. 我好 → wó hǎo.
• 们 is always neutral tone — never stressed. Type men (no number) in exercises.

Stroke Order Principles

Top → Bottom
Left → Right
Horizontal before vertical (when crossing)
Left-falling before right-falling
Centre before sides (vertical axis)
Outside before inside (enclosures)
Close the bottom last
Minor strokes last (dots / small sweeps)

Batch 10 Summary — Pronouns (代词)

Char	Pinyin	Meaning	Strokes	HSK
我	wǒ	I / me	7	HSK 1
你	nǐ	you	7	HSK 1
他	tā	he / him	5	HSK 1
她	tā	she / her	6	HSK 1
们	men	plural marker	5	HSK 1

Pinyin Typing Guide

All exercises accept tone marks (wǒ, nǐ, tā) or tone numbers (wo3, ni3, ta1). For 们, type men — no tone number needed (neutral tone). Both forms are equally correct.

🔊 Audio pronunciation powered by the Web Speech API (built into your browser, no external service).
For a comprehensive pinyin reference, visit Yabla Chinese Pinyin Chart.
Stroke order practice: Skritter · Character lookup: MDBG Dictionary.