Meaning
is; are; am; yes; to be
Chinese: 表示判断、确认或存在。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “shi” becomes a different word in each tone. 是 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 还是hái shistill (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or
- 是不是shì bu shìis or is not (used to form yes-no questions)
- 但是dàn shìbut; however
- 可是kě shìbut; however; (used for emphasis) indeed
- 正是zhèng shìis precisely
Example Sentence
他是一名医生。Tā shì yì míng yī shēng.He is a doctor.
他Tāhe是shìis一yìone名医míng yīfamous doctor生shēngto arise。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
日 (sun) over 正 (straight, correct): aligned with the sun — ‘correct, right’; from there the everyday verb ‘to be; yes; this’.
A way to remember it
Lined up straight with the sun — correct, ‘to be’.
Easy to confuse with
- 题‘Topic / problem’: contains 是, plus 页 (head).