He, she, it: anh ấy, chị ấy, and nó for children and things

To say "he" or "she", take the family word you'd use for that person and add ấy (that): anh ấy for a man you'd call anh, chị ấy for a woman you'd call chị, and likewise cô ấy, chú ấy, em ấy. So the word for "he" also shows how old he is compared with the speaker. Often people simply use the name: Chị Lan đi chợ rồi.

This is the form for writing, for Hà Nội, and for careful speech everywhere. In everyday Saigon speech the two syllables often fold into one: ảnh, chỉ, though you'll hear anh ấy there too.

Nó means "it" for animals and things: Con mèo này dễ thương, nó ngủ suốt. For people, it's for children, and among close friends for someone your age or younger: Con tôi bảy tuổi, nó học lớp hai. The plural is chúng nó, in Saigon tụi nó.

Don't use nó on its own for someone older than you or someone you should respect: it sounds rude. For an adult you don't know well, anh ấy, chị ấy or the name is safe. For several adults, use các anh ấy, các chị ấy or họ.