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是shìto be (followed by substantives only)

HSK 1word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

是 (shì) means "to be" when it links two nouns or noun phrases, as in "I am a student." It is not used before adjectives the way English "to be" is. It can also mean "correct" or "right," and appears in tag questions such as 是吗 and in the affirmative-negative pattern 是不是.

What does 是 mean?

  1. 1.

    to be (followed by substantives only)verb

  2. 2.

    correct; right; trueadjective

What does the character 是 mean?

  • 是to be (followed by substantives only)

How do you use 是?

Grammar patterns

  1. 1

    Noun 1 + 是 + Noun 2

    Use 是 to say Noun 1 is Noun 2. Do not put 是 before a simple adjective; Chinese uses other patterns there.

  2. 2

    …，是不是？ / …，是吗？

    Add 是不是 or 是吗 to check or confirm information, similar to English "right?" or "yeah?"

是 usually links nouns in both speech and writing; beginners can treat it as "to be" only when both sides are noun-like.

Patterns

  • 这 / 那 + 是 + Noun

    那是你们公司吗？

    Nà shì nǐmen gōngsī ma?

    Is that your company?

  • Subj. + 不是 + Noun

    我不是老板。

    Wǒ bú shì lǎobǎn.

    I am not the boss.

What are some examples of 是 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    我是学生。

    Wǒ shì xuésheng.

    I am a student.

  2. HSK 1

    这是我的朋友。

    Zhè shì wǒ de péngyou.

    This is my friend.

  3. HSK 1

    你是老师吗？

    Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?

    Are you a teacher?

  4. HSK 2

    他们不是坏人。

    Tāmen bú shì huài rén.

    They are not bad people.

How is 是 different from 在?

是 links two nouns for identity or category ("I am a student"). 在 marks location ("I am in Shanghai") and does not take another 是.

Only 是 fits here

我是学生。

Wǒ shì xuésheng.

I am a student.

How is 是 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你是学生吗？

    Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?

    Are you a student?

  2. Speaker B:

    是，我是学生。

    Shì, wǒ shì xuésheng.

    Yes, I am a student.

  3. Speaker A:

    那是你的老师吗？

    Nà shì nǐ de lǎoshī ma?

    Is that your teacher?

  4. Speaker B:

    不是，那是我的朋友。

    Bú shì, nà shì wǒ de péngyou.

    No, that is my friend.

  5. Speaker A:

    你是不是中国人？

    Nǐ shì bu shì Zhōngguó rén?

    Are you Chinese?

  6. Speaker B:

    是的。

    Shì de.

    Yes.

Can you use 是 correctly?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank: 我___学生。
  2. 2.Which sentence is correct?
  3. 3.Fill in the blank: 他们___坏人。

What should you learn next?

Related words

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.