tā de huà shānghài le tā.

他的话 literally means his words or what he said.

• 他 = he / him
• 的 = a particle that links a possessor or modifier to a noun
• 话 = words, speech, what someone says

So 他的话 can mean:

• his words
• what he said
• the things he said

In this sentence, it most naturally means what he said.

的 is used to connect 他 to 话.

It works a bit like 's or of in English:

• 他的话 = his words
• literally: he + de + words

This is a very common pattern in Chinese:

• 我的书 = my book
• 她的老师 = her teacher
• 他的话 = his words / what he said

Chinese nouns usually do not show singular or plural the way English does.

So 话 can mean:

• a word
• words
• something said
• speech / remarks

In 他的话伤害了她, 话 does not mean just one isolated word. It means what he said or his words/remarks in a general sense.

This follows the normal Chinese Subject + Verb + Object pattern.

• 他的话 = subject
• 伤害了 = verb phrase
• 她 = object

So the structure is:

[What he said] + [hurt] + [her]

That is actually quite similar to English:

• His words hurt her.
• What he said hurt her.

Yes. In this sentence, 伤害 is a verb meaning to hurt or to harm.

You can tell it is acting as a verb because:

• it is followed by 了
• it takes an object: 她

So here:

• 伤害她 = hurt her

Note that 伤害 can also be a noun in other contexts, meaning harm or injury. But in this sentence it is definitely a verb.

Here 了 marks the action as completed.

So 伤害了她 means:

• hurt her
• caused harm to her
• did hurt her

It does not simply mean past tense in the same way English does. Chinese does not mark tense the same way English does. Instead, 了 often shows that an event happened as a complete action.

So:

• 伤害她 = hurt her / harm her (general statement, habitual, or without focusing on completion)
• 伤害了她 = hurt her / did harm to her (completed event)

No. That is a very common beginner misunderstanding.

了 often marks completion of an action, not automatically past tense.

In many cases, a completed action is understood as past because of the context, but 了 itself is not simply a past-tense ending.

For example, depending on context, 了 can be used for:

• past completed events
• changes of situation
• newly relevant facts

In this sentence, it strongly suggests that the hurting happened as a completed event.

In spoken Mandarin, 他 and 她 are both pronounced tā.

• 他 = he / him
• 她 = she / her

The difference is mainly in writing, not pronunciation.

So in speech, you know which one is meant from:

• context
• who is being talked about
• surrounding sentences

This is normal in Mandarin.

A natural pronunciation is:

tā de huà shānghài le tā

Tone-by-tone:

• 他 tā — first tone
• 的 de — usually neutral tone here
• 话 huà — fourth tone
• 伤 shāng — first tone
• 害 hài — fourth tone
• 了 le — neutral tone here
• 她 tā — first tone

A rough rhythm is:

tā de huà | shānghài le tā

Yes, sometimes 他的话 can mean:

• his words
• what he said
• his remark
• even his side of the story or his opinion, depending on context

Chinese often leaves this a bit broad. The exact meaning depends on the situation.

In this sentence, because of 伤害了她, the most natural reading is:

• what he said hurt her
• his words hurt her

Yes, and that version is often even more explicit.

他说的话伤害了她 means:

• The words he said hurt her
• What he said hurt her

Compare:

• 他的话伤害了她 = his words / what he said hurt her
• 他说的话伤害了她 = the words that he said hurt her

The second one clearly spells out said with 说. The first one is shorter and very natural when the context is clear.

Usually, no.

You normally say:

• 他的话

If you remove 的 and say 他说话, that means something different:

• 他说话 = he speaks / the way he speaks / when he talks

So:

• 他的话伤害了她 = his words hurt her
• 他说话伤害了她 sounds odd or changes the meaning toward his speaking hurt her or the way he spoke hurt her

So in this sentence, 的 is important.

Because Chinese usually does not mark plural on nouns the way English does.

English often requires a choice:

• word
• words

Chinese often leaves that unspecified unless the number matters.

So 话 can naturally cover what English expresses as:

• word
• words
• remark
• remarks
• what someone said

You do not need a plural ending here.

It is fairly neutral and standard.

伤害 is a common word for hurt or harm, and it can refer to:

• emotional hurt
• psychological hurt
• physical harm, depending on context

In this sentence, many people would first understand it as emotional hurt, because words often hurt feelings. But the sentence itself does not strictly limit it to that.

Yes. That is a very natural English translation.

Possible translations include:

• His words hurt her.
• What he said hurt her.
• He hurt her with his words.

The Chinese sentence focuses grammatically on his words as the subject, but English can phrase it in several natural ways.

Yes, they are different.

• 伤害 = to hurt / to harm
• 伤心 = sad; heartbroken; to feel sad

So:

• 他的话伤害了她 = his words hurt her
• 她很伤心 = she is very sad

If you want to describe the action of causing emotional pain, 伤害 works well. If you want to describe her emotional state afterward, 伤心 is more appropriate.

It could technically mean either, but in normal context it most likely means emotional harm.

Because the subject is 他的话 (his words / what he said), listeners will usually think:

• he said something hurtful
• his remarks wounded her emotionally

If the speaker meant literal physical harm caused by words somehow, that would usually need extra context.

Sometimes, yes, but the nuance changes a little.

For example:

• 他的话伤到了她
• 他的话伤害了她

Both can mean his words hurt her, but:

• 伤到 often sounds a bit more conversational and can emphasize that the effect reached the person
• 伤害 can sound slightly more formal or stronger, depending on context

Both are common, but 伤害了她 is a very solid standard expression.

In this sentence, 他的话 is functioning as the subject of the verb 伤害了.

At the same time, Chinese often allows the subject to also feel like the thing being talked about, which can resemble a topic. But grammatically in this sentence, the simplest analysis is:

• subject: 他的话
• verb: 伤害了
• object: 她

So for a learner, treating 他的话 as the subject is the clearest approach.