HSK Guide

he, him; his; (in the plural 他们) they, including groups of mixed or unstated gender

(first tone, high and level)

he, him; his; (in the plural 他们) they, including groups of mixed or unstated gender

5 画部首 词频 #10

拼音

  • (first tone, high and level)

he, him; his; (in the plural 他们) they, including groups of mixed or unstated gender

字形拆解

Ideographic description

⿰亻也The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.

  • meaning partno entry yetThe person radical: the word points at a human being.
  • sound partno entry yet也 is here for the sound alone; it has nothing to do with its own meaning, "also".

Mnemonic

A person 亻 with 也 beside it for the sound. Two companions were built on the same pattern much later, when writers wanted to distinguish in print what speech has never distinguished: 她 with the woman radical, and 它 with a roof, for things. All three are said tā — only the radical tells them apart, and only on the page.

A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.