这/這 zhè and 那 nà have two functions.
They can be used as demonstratives, or words that are used to point out an item:
那是我的手机。
那是我的手機。
Nà shì wǒ de shǒujī.
That is my cellphone.
They can be used as specifiers, or words that occur as part of a noun phrase and that identify specific items:
这三本书
這三本書
zhè sān běn shū
these three books
When used as specifiers, these words each have an alternative pronunciation. 这/這 may be pronounced zhè or zhèi. 那 may be pronounced nà or nèi. The choice of pronunciation varies by speaker and region of China.
As demonstratives, 这/這 zhè ‘this’ and 那 nà ‘that’ refer to an entire noun phrase, either a concrete object or an abstract concept. They always occur at the beginning of the sentence, and they serve as the subject of the sentence. They can occur in statements or in questions.
那是中文字典。
Nà shì Zhōngwén zìdiǎn.
That is a Chinese dictionary.
这是我的书。
這是我的書。
Zhè shì wǒ de shū.
This is my book.
那是什么？
那是甚麼？
Nà shì shénme?
What is that?
(lit. ‘That is what?’)
这是什么意思？
這是甚麼意思？
Zhè shì shénme yìsi?
What is the meaning of this?
(lit. ‘This is what meaning?’)
When they are used as specifiers, 这/這 zhè, zhèi ‘this/these’ and 那 nà, nèi ‘that/those’ are part of a noun phrase. They occur before the number if there is one, and before the classifier and the noun in this order:
specifier + (number) + classifier + noun
Here are examples of noun phrases that begin with specifiers. Following each noun phrase there is an example showing how the noun phrase is used in a sentence.
| Noun phrase that begins with a specifier | Sample sentence with the noun phrase |
| 这三本书 | 这三本书都很贵。 |
| 這三本書 | 這三本書都很貴。 |
| zhè sān běn shū | Zhè sān běn shū dōu hěn guì. |
| these three books | These three books are all expensive. |
| 这种音乐 | 我很喜欢这种音乐。 |
| 這種音樂 | 我很喜歡這種音樂。 |
| zhè zhǒng yīnyuè | Wǒ hěn xǐhuan zhè zhǒng yīnyuè. |
| this kind of music | I like this kind of music very much. |
| 那个人 | 那个人很聪明。 |
| 那個人 | 那個人很聰明。 |
| nàge rén | Nàge rén hěn cōngming. |
| that person | That person is very intelligent. |
| 那个电影 | 我要看那个电影。 |
| 那個電影 | 我要看那個電影。 |
| nàge diànyǐng | Wǒ yào kàn nàge diànyǐng. |
| that movie | I want to see that movie. |
Notice that 这/這 zhè, zhèi and 那 nà, nèi do not have separate singular and plural forms.
这儿/這兒 zhèr (这里/這裏 zhèlǐ) ‘here’ and 那儿/那兒 nàr (那里/那裏 nàlǐ) ‘there’ indicate location. 这儿/這兒 zhèr ‘here’ and 那儿/那兒 nàr ‘there’ are used in the north of China, including Beijing. 这里/這裏 zhèlǐ and 那里/那裏 nàlǐ are used in the south of China, including Taiwan. The meaning and use of 这儿/這兒 zhèr and 这里/這裏 zhèlǐ is the same, as is the meaning and use of 那儿/那兒 nàr and 那里/那裏 nàlǐ. Each member of the pair is interchangeable in our examples here and throughout this book.
这儿/這兒 zhèr ‘here’ and 那儿/那兒 nàr ‘there’ may occur at the beginning of the sentence as the subject. As subjects, they may optionally be preceded by the location preposition 在 zài ‘at.’
(在)这儿有很多商店。
(在)這兒有很多商店。
(Zài) zhèr yǒu hěn duō shāngdiàn.
Here (in this location) are a lot of shops.
(在)那儿没有停车场。
(在)那兒沒有停車場。
(Zài) nàr méi yǒu tíngchē cháng.
There (in that location) there aren’t any parking lots.
When they are not the subject, 这儿/這兒 zhèr ‘here’ and 那儿/那兒 nàr ‘there’ must be preceded by the location preposition 在 zài ‘at.’
我在这儿工作。
我在這兒工作。
Wǒ zài zhèr gōngzuò.
I work here.
我在那儿买东西。
我在那兒買東西。
Wǒ zài nàr mǎi dōngxi.
I shop there.
► 14
People cannot serve as location nouns. To make a person into a location, follow it with a location specifier.
请到我这儿来。
請到我這兒來。
Qǐng dào wǒ zhèr lái.
Please come to me. [to my location]
我们今天晚上去小王那儿吃饭。
我們今天晚上去小王那兒吃飯。
Wǒmen jīntiān wǎnshang qù Xiǎo Wáng nàr chī fàn.
Tonight we’ll go to Xiao Wang’s to eat.
• 哪 nǎ/něi ‘which?’ is the question word that corresponds to the specifier 那 nà.
| Question | Answer |
| 你要哪本书？ | (我要)那本(书)。 |
| 你要哪本書？ | (我要)那本(書)。 |
| Nǐ yào nǎ běn shū? | (Wǒ yào) nà běn (shū). |
| Which book do you want? | (I want) that (book). |
| (lit. ‘You want which book?’) |
• 哪儿/哪兒 nǎr ‘where?’ is the question word that corresponds to the location words 这儿/這兒 zhèr ‘here’ and 那儿/那兒 nàr ‘there.’
| Question | Answer |
| 哪儿有书店？ | 那儿有书店。 |
| 哪兒有書店？ | 那兒有書店。 |
| Nǎr yǒu shūdiàn? | Nàr yǒu shūdiàn. |
| Where is there a bookstore? | There is a bookstore there. |
| 你在哪里工作？ | 我在这里工作。 |
| 你在哪裏工作？ | 我在這裏工作。 |
| Nǐ zài nǎlǐ gōngzuò? | Wǒ zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò. |
| Where do you work? | I work here. |
► 28.6