The Chinese word【是】that we will introduce this time is a word that describes a state or action. It is mainly used for the following meanings:
Affirmation and judgment. Explanation: (1) Used as a verb, it means affirmation. For example: “He is a man”, “The ground is all water”. (2) To express an emphasizing tone. For example: “Who stole it?” (3) Yes, correct. The opposite of “non”. Such as: “right and wrong”, “wrong becomes right”, “seek truth from facts”. (4) Words of agreement. For example: “Yes, I’ll go right away.”, “Yes, I’ll be there right away.” (5) Agree. Such as: “This is about the past, not the present”, “I agree with his words.” (6)Things. Such as: “national affairs”. (7) Demonstrative pronouns. Equal to “this” and “this”. For example, “That day”, “This is intolerable, what is intolerable?” (8) are used in sentences to advance the object. Such as: “obey orders blindly” and “seek profit only”.
The pronunciation of this specific Chinese character is given below.
Mandarin Pinyin of 【是】:shì
Cantonese Jyutping of 【是】:si6
Meet the Character 【是】 (shì / si6): A Friendly, Everyday “To Be”
If you’re learning Chinese, 【是】 is one of the first characters you’ll meet—and for good reason. It has 9 strokes, reads shì in Mandarin and si6 in Cantonese, and it pops up everywhere, from simple identification (“A is B”) to polite replies and classical expressions. One quick note if you also hear Cantonese: in daily speech people often use 【係】 (hai6) for “to be,” while 【是】 (si6) sounds more formal or written. In Mandarin, 【是】 (shì) is the standard copula.
At its core, 【是】 helps you identify or classify things: 【他是老師】 (He is a teacher), 【這張桌子是木頭做的】 (This table is made of wood), 【桌上都是書】 (The table is full of books). A common beginner tip in Mandarin is not to place 【是】 directly before adjectives—say 【她很高】 (She is tall), not 【她是高】. Beyond simple identity, 【是】 can add focus or emphasis, especially in questions: 【是誰打來的？】 (Who was it that called?) and in the 【是…的】 pattern to highlight when/where/how something happened: 【我是昨天在圖書館借的】 (I borrowed it yesterday at the library).
【是】 also carries the meaning “right/correct,” and it often pairs with 【非】 (“wrong”) in set phrases like 【是非】 (right and wrong; also “gossip” in some contexts) and 【是非題】 (true-or-false questions). You might hear 【分清是非很重要】 (It’s important to tell right from wrong), or 【他很少說是非】 (He rarely gossips). In formal replies, 【是】 works like a polite “Yes”: 【是，我馬上處理】 (Yes, I’ll handle it right away) and 【是，收到】 (Yes, understood).
In more literary or formal registers, 【是】 can signal agreement (【深是其言】（【文言】）, “deeply agrees with what was said”—everyday Mandarin would say: 【我很同意他的看法】), refer to public affairs (【國是】—national affairs), or even mean “this” in classical-style phrases (【是日】—on this day; 【是可忍，孰不可忍？】—if this can be tolerated, what cannot?). You’ll also see it fixed inside idioms that bring the object up front for emphasis, such as 【惟命是從】 (to obey orders absolutely) and 【惟利是圖】 (to pursue profit above all).
Two very handy partners are 【是非】 and 【是否】. The first can mean “right and wrong” or “gossip,” while 【是否】 means “whether or not.” For example: 【你是否想加入我們的讀書會？】 (Do you want to join our study group or not?) and 【我不確定資料是否完整】 (I’m not sure whether the information is complete). If you want a quick mini-map: 【是】 means “is/are/am” (【這件事是真的】—This is true), 【不是】 means “is not” (【這張票不是我的】—This ticket isn’t mine), 【是不是】 makes a friendly yes/no question (【你是不是新來的？】—Are you new here?), and 【是否】 is the more formal “whether or not” (【我們需要確認他是否出席】—We need to confirm whether he will attend).
To practice, try these short tasks. First, fill in with 【是】 / 【不是】 / 【是不是】 / 【是否】:
- 【這間房間___我們預訂的那一間？】
- 【這份報告___最新版本。】
- 【我想了解活動___免費。】
- 【這張照片___你拍的？】
Next, choose the best option:
5) 【我不確定他明天___有空。】（【是】／【是否】／【是不是】）
6) 【這位___我們的新同事。】（【是】／【是不是】／【是否】）
7) 【你___在找中文課程？】（【是】／【是不是】／【是否】）
Then rewrite a yes/no question as a statement:
8) 【你是不是對歷史感興趣？】 → 【用「是」造肯定句】
And translate:
9) I want to check whether the file is complete.
10) That’s not the answer I was looking for.
Here’s a compact answer key when you’re ready to check:
【是不是】 2) 【是】 3) 【是否】 4) 【是】；5) 【是否】 6) 【是】 7) 【是不是】；8) 【你是對歷史感興趣】（【更自然可說：你對歷史很感興趣】）；9) 【我想確認檔案是否完整】；10) 【那不是我想要的答案】.
