Connecting nouns with "shi"

The verb to be is not used in Chinese the same way as it is in English. In Chinese, 是 (shì) is for connecting nouns, and is generally not used with adjectives.

Basic Sentence

Structure

The structure for connecting nouns with 是 (shì) is:

Noun 1 + 是 + Noun 2

This is equivalent to "Noun 1 is Noun 2" in English.

Chinese does not conjugate verbs. That is, the form of the verb is the same no matter who is doing it. In this case, it is always 是 (shì) and never changes. As you can see, it's easy to form simple sentences expressing to be in Chinese. The only tricky thing about 是 (shì) in Chinese is that it's used to link two nouns, so you can't rely too much on translating directly from English when it comes to expressing the English verb "to be" in Chinese.

Examples

我 是 学生。
Wǒ shì xuésheng.
I am a student.

你 是 John 吗？
Nǐ shì John ma?
Are you John?

他们 是 有钱人。
Tāmen shì yǒuqiánrén.
They are rich people.

你是 老板 吗？
Nǐ shì lǎobǎn ma?
Are you the boss?

这 是 我 男朋友。
Zhè shì wǒ nán péngyou.
This is my boyfriend.

那 是 你们 公司 吗？
Nà shì nǐmen gōngsī ma?
Is that your company?

你 妈妈 是 老师 吗？
Nǐ māma shì lǎoshī ma?
Is your mother a teacher?

这 都 是 你 的 钱。
Zhè dōu shì nǐ de qián.
This is all your money.

那 是 什么 菜？
Nà shì shénme cài?
What food is that?

我 也 是 他 的 朋友。
Wǒ yě shì tā de péngyou.
I am also his friend.

Other Uses of 是

Be careful and take note. As you can see above, 是 (shì) is only used to link two nouns. It cannot be used to link a noun and an adjective. This is a very common mistake for people just beginning to learn Chinese. For that kind of sentence, you'll want to use a different structure with the linking word 很 (hěn).

In Chinese it is also possible to use the phrase "是不是 (shì bù shì)?" It can be used at the beginning or end of a sentence. It's meaning is quite similar to the English word: "right" or "aren't you?" This is very useful if you want to express concern for a person, or if you want to mix up your sentence structure a bit and make it more interesting. The 是不是 (shì bù shì) pattern is also part of the affirmative-negative questions.

Another way to use 是 (shì) is to use it as a tag question. You can add “是吗?” (shì ma?) to the end of a question to mean the English equivalent of: "is it" or "yeah?" Using this in a question usually allows the speaker to get a confirmation answer.

Examples

他 没 听 到， 是 不 是 ？
Tā méi tīng dào, shì bù shì?
He didn't hear you, right?

你 是 不 是 还 没 吃 饭？
Nǐ shì bù shì hái méi chīfàn?
Haven't you eaten yet?

你们 是 不 是 中 国 人？
Nǐmen shì bù shì Zhōngguó rén?
Are you Chinese?

你 到 了， 是 吗 ？
Nǐ dàole, shì ma?
You have arrived, yeah?

你 有 两 个 孩子， 是 吗 ？
Nǐ yǒu liǎng ge háizi, shì ma?
You have two kids, yeah?

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Comparing "er" and "liang"

In Chinese, there are two words for "two." They are 二 (èr) and 两 (liǎng), and each is used in different circumstances.

Uses of 二 (èr)

二 is used in numbers

The digit "2" is 二 (èr). This is used generally in numbers, when counting to ten, giving out a phone number, and so on.

Unlike 两 (liǎng), 二 (èr) is not used to say there are "two" of something, and does not generally occur with measure words by itself. Numbers like 十二 (12) (shí-èr) and 二十二 (22) (èrshí-èr) end with a "2" and can still be combined with measure words. In those cases, 两 (liǎng) is not needed.

Examples

Here are some common examples of 二 (èr) in action:

第 二
dì-èr
#2; second

第 二 个
dì-èr gè
the second one

第 二 次
dì-èr cì
the second time

二月
Èryuè
February (the second month)

二 号
èr hào
#2; the second (of the month)

二 号 线
èr hào xiàn
Line 2 (of the metro)

二 楼
èr lóu
second floor

二 十
èrshí
20

二 十 块 钱
èrshí kuài qián
20 RMB

二 十 二 个 人
èrshí-èr ge rén
twenty-two people

Uses of 两 (liǎng)

两 is used with measure words

When specifying quantities (and using measure words to do it), 两 (liǎng) is used. This is when you want to say "two of something" or "both."

Here are some common examples of 两 (liǎng) in action:

Examples

两 个 小时
liǎng ge xiǎoshí
two hours

两 点
liǎng diǎn
2 o'clock

两 天
liǎng tiān
two days

两 个 星期
liǎng ge xīngqī
two weeks

两 个 月
liǎng ge yuè
two months

两 年
liǎng nián
two years

两 次
liǎng cì
two times / twice

两 块 钱
liǎng kuài qián
2 kuai / 2 RMB

两百 note: 二百 (èrbǎi) is also acceptable.
èrbǎi
200

两千
liǎng qiān
2,000

我 两 个 都 要 。
Wǒ liǎng ge dōu yào.
I want both of them.

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Age with "sui"

Use 岁 (suì) to tell someone your age. The sentence pattern is a bit different from English, however.

Structure

The structure for telling someone's age with 岁 (suì) is:

Subj. + Number + 岁

This is equivalent to someone "is x years old" in English. Notice that you don't need to include any verb when you use 岁 (suì).

Examples

✔ 我 20 岁 。

Wǒ èrshí suì.

I am 20 years old.

✔ 我 妈妈 今年 45 岁 。

Wǒ māma jīnnián sìshí-wǔ suì.

My mother is 45 years old this year.

✔ 我 儿子 一 岁 半。

Wǒ érzi yī suì bàn.

My child is one and a half years old.

✔ 你 爷爷 今年 80 岁 吗？

Nǐ yéye jīnnián bāshí suì ma？

Is your grandpa eighty years old this year?

✔ 他 女朋友 也 20 岁 吗？

Tā nǚpéngyou yě èrshí suì ma?

Is his girlfriend also twenty years old?

Note that you don't need the verb 是 (shì) in any of these sentences, and you don't need a measure wordlike 个 (gè) either. In fact, it would be incorrect to use either of those with 岁 (suì):

ㄨ 我 的 孩子 一 个 岁 。

Wǒ de háizi yī gè suì.

ㄨ 我 的 孩子 是 一 岁 。

Wǒ de háizi shì yī suì.

✔ 我 的 孩子 一 岁 。

Wǒ de háizi yī suì.

My child is one year old.

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Affirmative-negative question

Also known as: 正反问句 (zhèng-fǎn wènjù) and alternative questions.

A common way to form questions in Chinese is to first use a verb in the positive, then repeat the same verb in its negative form, similar to how in English we can say, "Do you have money or not?" or "Have you or have you not been to the park?" This sentence pattern feels a lot more natural in Chinese than those admittedly awkward English equivalents, however.

Verb-Not-Verb

Structure

Verb + 不 + Verb

Examples

✔ 是 不 是 ？

Shì bù shì?

Is it (or not)?

✔ 他们 来 不 来 ？

Tāmen lái bù lái?

Are they going to come or not?

✔ 你 想 不 想 我 ？

Nǐ xiǎng bù xiǎng wǒ?

Do you or do you not miss me?

✔ 我们 要 去 酒吧， 你 去 不 去 ？

Wǒmen yào qù jiǔbā, nǐ qù bù qù?

We are going to the bar.Do you want to go?

✔ 我 去 买 咖啡 ，你 要 不 要 ？

Wǒ qù mǎi kāfēi, yào bù yào?

I‘m going to buy coffee.Do you want some?

Note that the question provides the listener with both possible answers: it's either "Verb" or "不 (bù) Verb."

 Verb-Not-Verb with an Object

Structure

If you want to add an object after the verb, the general sentence structure is:

Subj. + Verb + 不 + Verb + Obj.

Examples

✔ 你 回 不 回 家？

Nǐ huí bù huí jiā?

Are you coming back home or not?

✔ 她 吃 不 吃 鱼？

Tā chī bù chī yú?

Does she eat fish?

✔ 你们 要 不 要 米饭？

Nǐmen yào bù yào mǐfàn?

Do you want rice?

✔ 你爸爸 喝 不 喝 酒？

Nǐ bàba ​hē bù hē jiǔ?

Does your dad drink alcohol or not?

✔ 今天 老板 来 不 来 办公室？

Jīntiān lǎobǎn lái bù lái bàngōngshì?

Is the boss coming to the office today?

Adjective-Not-Adjective

Structure

It can also be done with adjectives (adjectives often behave like verbs in Chinese):

Adj. + 不 + Adj.

Examples

✔ 好 不 好 ？

Hǎo bù hǎo?

Is it good? (or "good or not good?")

✔ 热 不 热 ？

Rè bù rè?

Is it hot?

✔ 他 帅 不 帅 ？

Tā shuài bù shuài?

Is he handsome?

✔ 这里 的 咖啡 贵 不 贵 ？

Zhèlǐ de kāfēi gùi bù gùi?

Is the coffee expensive here?

✔ 中国 菜 辣 不 辣 ？

Zhōngguó cài là bù là?

Is Chinese food spicy?

Again, the question provides the listener with both possible answers: it's either "Adjective" or "不 (bù) Adjective."

These are something like adding tag questions in English, in this case "Are you an adult or not?" If you wanted to translate it very literally, it would be, "Are you or are you not an adult?" In any case, the structure is a very common way to ask questions in Chinese.

Two-character verbs or adjectives in positive-negative questions

All of the verbs used so far have been single-character verbs. Using two-characters verbs in positive-negative questions is slightly trickier. You usually put 不 (bù) after just the first character, then put the entire verb. For example 喜不喜欢 (xǐ bù xǐhuan) is the usual question form of 喜欢 (xǐhuan). You can repeat the whole two-character verb twice, but it's more common (and more elegant) to insert 不 (bù) after the first character (and the same is generally true of two-character adjectives).

Structure

It can be done with verbs:

[First Character of Verb] + 不 + Verb

It can also be done with adjectives:

[First Character of Adj.] + 不 + Adj.

Examples

✔ 喜欢 不 喜欢  ? ☞(the whole word is repeated)

Xǐhuan bù xǐhuan?

Do you like it?

✔ 喜 不 喜欢  ? ☞(only the first character is repeated)

Xǐ bù xǐhuan?

Do you like it?

✔ 高兴 不 高兴  ? ☞(the whole word is repeated)

Gāoxìng bù gāoxìng?

Are you happy?

✔ 高 不 高兴  ? ☞(only the first character is repeated)

Gāo bù gāoxìng?

Are you happy?

✔ 他 女朋友 漂亮 不 漂亮？☞(the whole word is repeated)

Tā nǚpéngyou piàoliang bù piàoliang?

Is his girlfriend pretty?

✔ 他 女朋友 漂 不 漂亮？☞(only the first character is repeated)

Tā nǚpéngyou piào bù piàoliang?

Is his girlfriend pretty?

✔ 中国 菜 好吃 不 好吃？☞(the whole word is repeated)

Zhōngguó cài hǎochī bù hǎochī?

Is Chinese food good?

✔ 中国 菜 好 不 好吃？☞(only the first character is repeated)

Zhōngguó cài hǎo bù hǎochī?

Is Chinese food good?

✔ 那 个 地方 好玩 不 好玩？☞(the whole word is repeated)

Nà ge dìfang hǎowán bù hǎowán?

Is that place fun?

✔ 那 个 地方 好 不 好玩？☞(only the first character is repeated)

Nà ge dìfang hǎo bù hǎowán?

Is that place fun?

 有 in positive-negative questions

Structure

Because the verb 有 (yǒu) is negated with 没 (méi) and not 不 (bù), the structure for positive-negative questions with 有 (yǒu) is:

Subj. + 有没有 + Obj.

The possible answers are: "有 (yǒu)" or "没有 (méiyǒu)."

The questions could be be asking about current possession ("do you have it or not?"), or to ask about verbs in the past ("did you do it or not?").

Examples

✔ 你哥哥 有 没有 女 朋友？

Nǐgēge yǒu méiyǒu nǚpéngyou?

Does your older brother have a girlfriend?

✔ 你们 有 没有 孩子？

Nǐmen yǒu méiyǒu háizi?

Do you have children?

✔ 你 有 没有 见 过 Obama？

Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu jiàn guo Obama?

Have you met Obama?

✔ 奶奶 有 没有 坐 过 飞机？

Nǎinai yǒu méiyǒu zuò guo fēijī?

Has grandma been on a plane?

✔ 他 有 没有 上 过 大学？

Tā yǒu méiyǒu shàng guo dàxué?

Has he been to college?

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