他 (tā) is a Chinese character meaning “he”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 也 (also; too), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “he; him”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 也
Left–right structure
Structure from: 今形为形声：从亻，也声。此处只描述现代字形的构成，不追溯上古来源
Memory aid
亻 (a person, on the left) plus 也. 也 is here as the sound part — but be honest about it: 也 is read yě and 他 is read tā. The sounds drifted a long way apart. 也 still marks the family: 他, 她, 池, 地 all share it.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 他们tā menthey; them他 = tāHSK 1
- 其他qí tāother; the rest他 = tāHSK 3
Go deeper
All readings
he; him
he; him; other; another
别人；指自己和对方以外的那个人。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 他们tā menthey; them他 = tāHSK 1
- 其他qí tāother; the rest他 = tāHSK 3
Sound component
也 family diverged
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 他 mean?
他 (tā) means he; him; other; another.
How do you pronounce 他?
It is pronounced tā.
What parts is 他 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 也 (also; too), side by side. This breakdown was checked by a human (source: 今形为形声：从亻，也声。此处只描述现代字形的构成，不追溯上古来源). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 他 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 他?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 他?
Common ones are 他们 and 其他. The reading of 他 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.