Trova Inglese Insegnanti
Asiyah
What is the meaning of 是 in this sentence: 不是中文
I know the word 是 by itself means yes and 不 means no or not but I see 不是 together a lot. I would like to know if 是 has some type of grammatical meaning in sentences. Why wouldn't the sentence be 不中文 instead of 不是中文?
22 nov 2013 04:44
Risposte · 12
3
The meaning of 是 is "to be". For example:
我是……
I am...
你是……
You are...
他是……
He is...
The reason it sometimes means "yes" is because questions can be answered with the verb used in the question. If you ask 你是……吗?, the verb used is 是 so you can answer in the positive 是 (yes) or negative 不是 (no). [不 goes before the verb]
So 不是中文 means not-is-Chinese, meaning "It isn't Chinese".
22 novembre 2013
2
In addition to meaning "yes," 是 can also be translated as "to be" (as in, "am, is, are"). So 不是中文means "(it) is not Chinese."
Unfortunately, 不中文is ungrammatical. :(
22 novembre 2013
1
不 doesn't mean anything on its own. It's used in front of a verb to negate it.
是 is a verb that means "to be".
So 不是 means "is not“.
Ex.
我是澳州人。 - I'm Australian.
我不是中国人。 - I'm not Chinese.
There is no exact equivalent of "yes" in Chinese. The positive response to a question is to repeat the verb, and the negative response is to negate it. If the verb is 是, then 是 does mean 'yes' and 不是 does mean no. If the verb is different, then you need to use that verb.
Ex.
你是学生吗?
This means "Are you a student?". 是 is the verb here, so 是 means 'yes' and 不是 means ‘no'.
你说汉语吗?
This means "Do you speak Chinese?“. 说 is the verb, so 说 means 'yes' and 不说 means 'no'.
22 novembre 2013
It's quite simple. 是 Means be. 不是 means be not.
22 novembre 2013
the word 是 doesn't mean "yes"
it means "to be"
不 是 中文 = isn't written Chinese language
22 novembre 2013
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Asiyah
Competenze linguistiche
Cinese (mandarino), Inglese, Francese, Italiano, Portoghese
Lingua di apprendimento
Cinese (mandarino), Francese, Italiano, Portoghese
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