(bú shì) - is not, am not, are not in Mandarin
búshìTraditional: 不是
Translation
is not, am not, are not
Word origin
A two-character expression: 不 'not' plus 是 'to be' (composed of 日 'sun' over 正 'correct', conveying affirmation). Together 不是 means 'is not'.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 不 (not) + 是 (日 sun + 正 correct)
Stroke order
不
是
Examples
，。
I am not a student, I am a teacher.
。
This is not my book.
？
Did you not say you were coming tomorrow?
。
Today is not Monday.
。
I did not do it on purpose.
Used in
Stories
(5)Grammar articles
(9)Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
The Mandarin Copula 是 (shì): To Be, and When to Leave It Out
Mandarin Negation: 不 (bù) vs 没 (méi), and Why 不有 Does Not Exist
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Question Formation: 吗, V-Not-V, 还是, and the In-Situ Wh-Word System
The Mandarin 是…的 (shì...de) Construction: Highlighting When, Where, and How Something Happened
Mandarin Word Order: SVO, Topic-Comment, and the 把 Construction That Reorders Everything
Yes-No Questions in Mandarin: 吗 (ma), Echo Answers, and the Bounce-Back 呢 (ne)
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