之（代词）
之 after a verb means him, her, it or them; between nouns it means 的
Structure
动词 之 · 名词 之 名词
What it means
Classical 之: after a verb it means him, her, it or them; between two nouns it works like 的.
How it is built
Verb + 之 as the object: 学而时习之 (learn it and practise it in due time). Noun + 之 + noun, like 的: 千里之行 (a journey of a thousand li).
When to use it
Met in classical texts, idioms and formal writing. Modern survivals: 总之 (to sum up), 反之 (conversely), 换言之 (in other words), 取而代之, 置之不理, 久而久之.
Watch out
Don’t use 之 as an object in modern speech: ✗ 我喜欢之 ✓ 我喜欢它. As 的, it lives in set or formal phrases (赤子之心, 一家之主); in plain speech use 的.
Examples
学而时习之，不亦说乎？
To learn and at due times practise it: is that not a pleasure?
知之为知之，不知为不知。
To know it is to know it; not to know is not to know.
Learn this in Lesson 206 · HSK 9+: 文言入门：之乎者也 (Classical Chinese: the four little words)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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