她

• Pinyin: tā
• Hanzi breakdown: 她 = 女 (woman radical) + 也 (also, phonetic component)

Meaning

She; her. The third-person feminine pronoun.

Created in the early 20th century to distinguish feminine reference in writing. In spoken Chinese, 她 and 他 are pronounced identically (both tā). The distinction only matters in written text. Uses the 女 (woman) radical instead of 亻(person).

Examples

1. 她是我姐姐。 She is my older sister.
2. 她很漂亮。 She is very beautiful.
3. 我昨天见到她了。 I saw her yesterday.

Usage Guide

Context: reference, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 她叫什么名字？(What is her name?)
• 她在哪儿工作？(Where does she work?)

Don't Say

• 他很漂亮。(When writing about a woman, use 她 not 他 — the written distinction matters even though they sound the same)

Origin & History

A modern creation from the 1910s-1920s, modelled on the masculine 他 but replacing the person radical with 女 (woman) to mirror the he/she distinction in European languages.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal