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不是 (bù shi) — not be (negates a noun or noun phrase after 是); either…or… (in the structure 不是…就是…); not…but… (in the structure 不是…而是…)

Definition

不是 negates the noun (or noun phrase) that follows 是 — it is only used with 是, not as a general ‘not.’ In the patterns 不是…就是… ('either…or…') and 不是…而是… ('not…but…'), it sets up a contrast between two options.

verb
not be (negates a noun or noun phrase after 是)either…or… (in the structure 不是…就是…)not…but… (in the structure 不是…而是…)

Examples

  • 不是，。
    Tā bù shi lǎo shī, shì xué shēng.
    He is not a teacher; he is a student.
  • 不是。
    Tā bù shi qù běi jīng jiù shì qù shàng hǎi.
    He is either going to Beijing or to Shanghai.
  • 不是，。
    Zhè bù shi nǐ de cuò, ér shì wǒ de cuò.
    This is not your fault, but rather my fault.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 是 →

Grammar

Appears in
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