Chinese Pronouns and 是 (shì)

A1.2 · Building identity

Chinese Pronouns and 是 (shì)

By the end, you can identify yourself and other people with the natural Chinese pattern—not a word-for-word copy of English.

Grammar map

Person or topic Subject or topic Identity form Example Pronunciation / note Natural English
I 我 是 我是学生。 wǒ shì xuésheng I am a student.
you 你 是 你是老师。 nǐ shì lǎoshī You are a teacher.
he / she 他 / 她 是 他是医生。 / 她是医生。 tā shì yīshēng He/She is a doctor.
we 我们 是 我们是朋友。 wǒmen shì péngyou We are friends.
you — plural 你们 是 你们是学生。 nǐmen shì xuésheng You are students.
they 他们 / 她们 是 他们是老师。 / 她们是老师。 tāmen shì lǎoshī They are teachers.

Notice the pattern

Mandarin uses 是 (shì) to connect a person with a noun identity, and 是 never changes with the subject. 们 forms human-pronoun plurals.

Spoken 他 and 她 are both tā. Do not put 是 before an ordinary adjective predicate: compare 我是学生 (I am a student) with 我很好 (I am well).

Build identity sentences

Read each model aloud, then replace the identity word with one that is true for you or someone you know.

I

我是学生。

I am a student.

you

你是老师。

You are a teacher.

he / she

他是医生。 / 她是医生。

He/She is a doctor.

we

我们是朋友。

We are friends.

you — plural

你们是学生。

You are students.

they

他们是老师。 / 她们是老师。

They are teachers.

Practice

  1. Copy the first-row identity sentence exactly.
  2. Copy the second-row model, then replace its identity word with one that is true.
  3. Change the first-row idea to the we model in row four.
  4. Translate the third-row example into natural English.
  5. Does Chinese use a separate word that changes like English am / is / are? Answer from the pattern note.
  6. Write two true identity sentences: one about you and one about another person or group.
Check your answers
  1. 1 → 我是学生。
  2. 2 → A model is 你是老师。
  3. 3 → 我们是朋友。
  4. 4 → He/She is a doctor.
  5. 5 → Mandarin uses the separate word 是 for noun identity, but it does not change with the subject.
  6. 6: Answers vary. Check the subject or topic, identity pattern, and any gender or number choices.

Create a three-person identity set

Write and say three accurate lines: one about yourself, one about another person, and one about a group. Check the person or topic form, gender and number choices, and the identity pattern.

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