Chinese is relatively easy in terms of grammar and sentence construction. There are no cases, no conjugation, no plural forms, no verb tenses, no articles. There is just the basic Subject - Verb - Object. Once you build your vocabulary, it will be pretty straightforward to form sentences. So let’s start with personal pronouns, since these will be used in most basic sentences.
Personal pronouns
Chinese pronouns are very simple, with no grammatical cases. Let’s start with singular pronouns.
Singular pronouns
- 我 (wǒ) I/me
- 你 (nǐ) you (singular, informal)
- 您 (nín) you (singular, polite)
- 他 (tā) he/him, or general third person
- 她 (tā) she/her
- 它 (tā) it
All of these are written the same in Traditional and Simplified form. Note that there are two words for “you”, which is also common in other languages. 你 (nǐ) is the informal form, while 您 (nín) is the polite form, used for example with elders.
For third person pronouns, there is no gender distinction in spoken Chinese, as all variations are pronounced exactly the same (tā). There are also other less common variations in writing:
- 牠 (tā) it (exclusively for animals); Traditional Chinese only. Simplified form is also 它 (tā)
- 祂 (tā) third person pronoun for deities
Plural pronouns
Once you know the basic singular pronouns, forming plural pronouns is easy! Just add the plural marker, 們 /们 (men)!
Click here for Traditional Chinese
- 我們 (wǒmen) we/us
- 你們 (nǐmen) you (plural, informal)
- 您們 (nínmen) you (plural, polite)
- 他們 / 她們 / 它們 (tāmen) they/them
Additionally, there is also a version of “we/us” that is specifically inclusive (i.e., you and me):
- 咱們 (zánmen) we/us (inclusive, you and me)
Click here for Simplified Chinese
- 我们 (wǒmen) we/us
- 你们 (nǐmen) you (plural, informal)
- 您们 (nínmen) you (plural, polite)
- 他们 / 她们 / 它们 (tāmen) they/them
Additionally, there is also a version of “we/us” that is specifically inclusive (ie, you and me):
- 咱们 (zánmen) we/us (inclusive, you and me)
Possessive pronouns
Again, it’s easy to form possessive pronouns! Just add the possessive particle, 的 (de):
Click here for Traditional Chinese
- 我的 (wǒ de) my/mine
- 你的 (nǐ de) your/yours (singular, informal)
- 您的(nín de) your/yours (singular, polite)
- 他的 / 她的 / 它的 (tā de) his/hers/its
- 我們的 (wǒmen de) our/ours
- 你們的 (nǐmen de) your/yours (plural, informal)
- 您們的 (nínmen de) your/yours (plural, polite)
- 他們的 / 她們的 / 它們的 (tāmen de) their/theirs
Click here for Simplified Chinese
- 我的 (wǒ de) my/mine
- 你的 (nǐ de) your/yours (singular, informal)
- 您的(nín de) your/yours (singular, polite)
- 他的 / 她的 / 它的 (tā de) his/hers/its
- 我们的 (wǒmen de) our/ours
- 你们的 (nǐmen de) your/yours (plural, informal)
- 您们的 (nínmen de) your/yours (plural, polite)
- 他们的 / 她们的 / 它们的 (tāmen de) their/theirs
Examples
Now try to read and translate the following sentences:
In Traditional Chinese
- 他是我們的老師! (Tā shì wǒmen de lǎoshī!)
- 你和我是好朋友。 (Nǐ hé wǒ shì hǎo péngyǒu.)
- 我愛她，但是她不愛我。 (Wǒ ài tā, dànshì tā bù ài wǒ.)
- 這是我的，那是你的 。 (Zhè shì wǒ de, nà shì nǐ de.)
- 他們給我你的書。 (Tāmen gěi wǒ nǐ de shū.)
- 你們的家很大。 (Nǐmen de jiā hěn dà.)
Here’s some additional vocabulary to help out 
- 是 (shì) is/are
- 老師 (lǎoshī) teacher
- 和 (hé) and
- 好 (hǎo) good
- 朋友 (péngyǒu) friend
- 愛 (ài) love
- 但是 (dànshì) but
- 不 (bù) no/not
- 這 (zhè) this
- 那 (nà) that
- 給 (gěi) give
- 書 (shū) book
- 家 (jiā) house/home
- 很 (hěn) very (also used in place of 是 (shì) as “is/are” before adjectives)
- 大 (dà) big
In Simplified Chinese
- 他是我们的老师! (Tā shì wǒmen de lǎoshī!)
- 你和我是好朋友。 (Nǐ hé wǒ shì hǎo péngyǒu.)
- 我爱她，但是她不爱我。 (Wǒ ài tā, dànshì tā bù ài wǒ.)
- 这是我的，那是你的 。 (Zhè shì wǒ de, nà shì nǐ de.)
- 他们给我你的书。 (Tāmen gěi wǒ nǐ de shū.)
- 你们的家很大。 (Nǐmen de jiā hěn dà.)
Here’s some additional vocabulary to help out
- 是 (shì) is/are
- 老师 (lǎoshī) teacher
- 和 (hé) and
- 好 (hǎo) good
- 朋友 (péngyǒu) friend
- 爱 (ài) love
- 但是 (dànshì) but
- 不 (bù) no/not
- 这 (zhè) this
- 那 (nà) that
- 给 (gěi) give
- 书 (shū) book
- 家 (jiā) house/home
- 很 (hěn) very (also used in place of 是 (shì) as “is/are” before adjectives)
- 大 (dà) big
Change log:
- Edited with dreamtimer.sourceforge.io/endecoder/
- Formatting and dividers; Single introduction for plural markers