Where 他 comes from
An additional, "also" 也 person 亻
How to write 他 (tā, “he”)
他 (tā), an HSK 1 character, means “he” and “other”. It is a character whose parts combine into its meaning. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 他们 (“they”), 其他 (“other”) and 他人 (“another person”). Japanese reads it ta, “other”, as a JLPT N3 kanji.
- Pinyin
- tā
- Strokes
- 5
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 亻 (“person”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
As a left-right character it splits into 亻 (“person”, the radical), strokes 1–2; 也 (“also”), strokes 3–5, written the left part first.
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top leftdown and left
- Vertical ㇑leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn-hook ㇆leftrightwards → downwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Vertical-curve-hook ㇟topdown and right → rightwards → upwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 5 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| tā first tone | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日 (tārì) and 他人 (tārén)) | — | 他们 其他 他人 吉他 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 49 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 他
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he… HSK 1 |
| 他们 他們 | tāmen | they; them HSK 1 |
| 其他 | qítā | other; (sth or sb) else HSK 3 |
| 他人 | tārén | another person; sb else HSK 5 |
| 吉他 | jítā | (loanword) guitar HSK 7-9 |
| 他国 他國 | tāguó | another country |
| 他用 | tāyòng | other use; other purpose |
| 他者 | tāzhě | others; (sociology, philosophy) the Other |
| 卡他 | kǎtā | (loanword) (medicine) catarrh |
| 他者化 | tāzhěhuà | othering; otherization |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 1, in list order: