它

See also: 牠

它	U+5B83, 它 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5B83

← 宂
[U+5B82]

CJK Unified Ideographs

宄 →
[U+5B84]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

它 (Kangxi radical 40, 宀+2, 5 strokes, cangjie input 十心 (JP), four-corner 3071₁, composition ⿱宀匕)

Derived characters

佗, 沱, 陀, 柁, 蛇, 舵, 詑(𫍡), 鉈(铊), 駝(驼), 鴕(鸵)

References

KangXi: page 281, character 14
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 7057
Dae Jaweon: page 551, character 14
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 910, character 3
Unihan data for U+5B83

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 它
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (它) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
佗	l̥ʰaːl, l'aːl
拕	l̥ʰaːl, l'aːlʔ
它	*l̥ʰaːl
蛇	l̥ʰaːl, ɦljaːl, *lal
袉	l̥ʰaːlʔ, l'aːl, *l'aːlʔ
鴕	*l'aːl
駝	*l'aːl
紽	*l'aːl
鮀	*l'aːl
陀	*l'aːl
沱	l'aːl, l'aːlʔ
跎	*l'aːl
詑	l'aːl, l'aːlʔ, hlel, lal, *l̥ʰoːl
酡	*l'aːl
迱	*l'aːl
舵	*l'aːlʔ
柁	*l'aːlʔ
鉈	ɦljaːl, hljal

Pictogram (象形) : a snake. This is now written as the derivative 蛇 (OC *l̥ʰaːl, *ɦljaːl, *lal).

The character was later borrowed for the then-homophonous third-person pronoun (“he/she/it”). Today 他 (tā) is used for male or gender-unspecified “he” and 她 (tā) for “she”.

Pronunciation 1

牠 - chiefly used to refer to animals
trad.		它/牠
simp.		它

Mandarin
(Pinyin): tā (ta¹)
(Zhuyin): ㄊㄚ
Cantonese (Jyutping): taa¹
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): thâ
Min Nan (POJ): thaⁿ / tha / tho / tô
Wu (Wiktionary): ta (T1)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: tā
  - Zhuyin: ㄊㄚ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ta
  - Wade–Giles: tʻa¹
  - Yale: tā
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ta
  - Palladius: та (ta)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰä⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: taa¹
  - Yale: tā
  - Cantonese Pinyin: taa¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: ta¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰaː⁵⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thâ
  - Hakka Romanization System: ta´
  - Hagfa Pinyim: ta¹
  - Sinological IPA: /tʰa²⁴/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thaⁿ
  - Tâi-lô: thann
  - Phofsit Daibuun: tvaf
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰã³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /tʰã⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tha
  - Tâi-lô: tha
  - Phofsit Daibuun: taf
  - IPA (Xiamen): /tʰa⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tho
  - Tâi-lô: tho
  - Phofsit Daibuun: toy
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰɤ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰo³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /tʰo⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tô
  - Tâi-lô: tô
  - Phofsit Daibuun: dooi
  - IPA (Xiamen): /to²⁴/

Note:

thaⁿ/tha - vernacular;
tho/tô - literary.

Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: ta (T1)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ta̱⁵³/

Middle Chinese: /tʰɑ/

Rime
Character	它
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	透 (6)
Final (韻)	歌 (94)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	託何切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/tʰɑ/
Pan Wuyun	/tʰɑ/
Shao Rongfen	/tʰɑ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/tʰa/
Li Rong	/tʰɑ/
Wang Li	/tʰɑ/
Bernard Karlgren	/tʰɑ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	tuō
Expected Cantonese Reflex	to¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*l̥ˤaj/
(Zhengzhang): /*l̥ʰaːl/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	它
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	tā
Middle Chinese	‹ tha ›
Old Chinese	/*l̥ˁaj/
English	another
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	它
Reading #	1/1
No.	12210
Phonetic component	它
Rime group	歌
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	佗
Old Chinese	/*l̥ʰaːl/

Definitions

它

third-person singular pronoun for inanimate objects; it
這是一份非常重要的文件，千萬不要把它丟掉。 [MSC, trad.]
这是一份非常重要的文件，千万不要把它丢掉。 [MSC, simp.]
Zhè shì yī fèn fēicháng zhòngyào de wénjiàn, qiānwàn bùyào bǎ tā diūdiào. [Pinyin]
This is a very important document; you must not lose it.
(chiefly simplified Chinese) third-person singular pronoun for animals; it
(obsolete) general third-person singular pronoun; he; she; they (singular); it
A dummy pronoun.
alt. forms: 他
- 如果妳唱得叫座，一個月賺它個一二百塊錢是少不了的。 [MSC, trad.]
  如果你唱得叫座，一个月赚它个一二百块钱是少不了的。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: 2001, Chiung Yao, 情深深雨濛濛, episode 2 (Mainland version)
  Rúguǒ nǐ chàng de jiàozuò, yī ge yuè zhuàn tā ge yī èr bǎi kuài qián shì shǎo bùliǎo de. [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this example)
crooked; evil
a surname

Usage notes

In traditional Chinese, there is generally a distinction between 它 and 牠; the former refers exclusively to inanimate objects, while the latter refers exclusively to animals.
In simplified Chinese, only 它 is used for both inanimate objects and animals.

Compounds

之死靡它
其它
奢摩它
委它
它人
它名
它岐
它年
它心

它所
它故
它日
它法
它界
拉它
橐它
磨它子
自它

靡它
奇請它比／奇请它比
它們／它们 (tāmen)
它山之石，可以為錯／它山之石，可以为错
它時／它时
它腸／它肠
它門／它门
無它／无它
駘它／骀它

Pronunciation 2

simp. and trad.		它

Mandarin
(Pinyin): tuō (tuo¹)
(Zhuyin): ㄊㄨㄛ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: tuō
  - Zhuyin: ㄊㄨㄛ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: tuo
  - Wade–Giles: tʻo¹
  - Yale: twō
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tuo
  - Palladius: то (to)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰwɔ⁵⁵/

Definitions

它

Used in 它它藉藉／它它借借.
Alternative form of 駝／驼 (tuó).

Pronunciation 3

simp. and trad.		它

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yí (yi²)
(Zhuyin): ㄧˊ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yí
  - Zhuyin: ㄧˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yí
  - Wade–Giles: i²
  - Yale: yí
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yi
  - Palladius: и (i)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /i³⁵/

Definitions

它

Only used in 它它.

Pronunciation 4

For pronunciation and definitions of 它 – see 蛇 (“snake; serpent; illegal immigrant; etc.”). (This character, 它, is a variant form of 蛇.)

Japanese

Kanji

它

(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji)

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Readings

Go-on: た (ta)
Kan-on: た (ta)
Kun: へび (hebi, 它)

Vietnamese

Han character

它: Hán Nôm readings: dà, đà, tha

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.