不是

Chinese

		not; no	be; yes; this
simp. and trad. (不是)		不	是

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): bùshì, bùshi

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄕˋ, ㄅㄨˋ ˙ㄕ

  (Dungan, Cyrillic): бусы (busɨ, I-I)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ si⁶
• Min Nan (POJ): put-sǐ / put-sī

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Pinyin: bùshì [Phonetic: búshì]
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄕˋ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bushyh
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bùshìh
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 不世 不是 不識／不识 不適／不适

      
      
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: bùshi
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ˙ㄕ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bu.shy
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bùshi̊h
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹ ʂʐ̩¹/

Note: bùshi - (1) for the noun, standard Mainland pronunciation and variant Taiwan pronunciation (2) for the verb, variant pronunciation.

• • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic: бусы (busɨ, I-I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pou²⁴ sz̩²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: bat¹ si⁶
    • Yale: bāt sih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ si⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ xi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ siː²²/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: put-sǐ
    • Tâi-lô: put-sǐ
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /put̚⁵⁻²⁴ ɕi²²/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: put-sī
    • Tâi-lô: put-sī
    • Phofsit Daibuun: putsi
    • IPA (Xiamen): /put̚³²⁻⁴ ɕi²²/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /put̚³²⁻⁵ ɕi²²/
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /put̚³²⁻⁴ ɕi³³/

Verb

不是

1. to not be

   這不是我的書。 / 这不是我的书。  ―  Zhè bùshì wǒ de shū.  ―  This is not my book.

   這不是我的書嗎？ / 这不是我的书吗？  ―  Zhè bùshì wǒ de shū ma?  ―  This is not my book? (e.g. when you are told that the book is not yours.)

   不是我不明白，我只是不想說。 [MSC, trad.]
   不是我不明白，我只是不想说。 [MSC, simp.]

   Bùshì wǒ bù míngbái, wǒ zhǐshì bù xiǎng shuō. [Pinyin]

   It's not that I don't know; it's just that I don't want to say it.

2. Used in interrogative sentences, to express a certain emotion. Equivalent to “... not ... ?”

   我不是說了別叫我弟弟嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
   我不是说了别叫我弟弟吗？ [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ bùshì shuō le bié jiào wǒ dìdi ma? [Pinyin]

   Didn't I already tell you not to call me "little bro"?

   看，那不是姚明嗎？ / 看，那不是姚明吗？  ―  Kàn, nà bùshì Yáo Míng ma?  ―  Look! Isn't that Yao Ming?

   這不是我的書嗎？ / 这不是我的书吗？  ―  Zhè bùshì wǒ de shū ma?  ―  Isn't this my book? (e.g. when you find other person holding your book)

   • 天哪，兀的不是我媳婦兒！ [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     天哪，兀的不是我媳妇儿！ [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Yuan Dynasty, Guan Hanqing, The Injustice to Dou E

     Tiān na, wùde bùshì wǒ xífùr! [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this example)

Usage notes

In sense 2, 不是 is usually weakened, pronounced with neutral tone, while in sense 1, 不是 is stressed.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 不是 (“to not be”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		非
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		不是, 否
Mandarin	Beijing	不是
	Taiwan	不是
	Jinan	不是
	Xi'an	不是
	Wuhan	不是
	Chengdu	不是
	Yangzhou	不是
	Hefei	不是
	Malaysia	不是
	Singapore	不是
Cantonese	Guangzhou	唔係
	Hong Kong	唔係
	Taishan	唔係
	Yangjiang	無係
	Kuala Lumpur	唔係
	Singapore	唔係
Gan	Nanchang	不是
Hakka	Meixian	毋係
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	毋係
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	毋係
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	毋係
	Dongshi (Dabu)	毋係
	Hsinchu (Raoping)	毋係
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	毋係
Jin	Taiyuan	不是
Min Bei	Jian'ou	伓是
Min Dong	Fuzhou	伓是
	Matsu	伓是
Min Nan	Xiamen	毋是
	Quanzhou	毋是, ⿱不是
	Zhangzhou	毋是
	Taipei	毋是
	Kaohsiung	毋是
	Tainan	毋是
	Taichung	毋是
	Hsinchu	毋是
	Lukang	毋是
	Sanxia	毋是
	Yilan	毋是
	Kinmen	毋是
	Magong	毋是
	Penang (Hokkien)	毋是
	Singapore (Hokkien)	毋是
	Philippines (Manila Hokkien)	毋是
	Chaozhou	唔是, ⿱不是
	Shantou	唔是, ⿱不是
	Jieyang	唔是, ⿱不是
	Haifeng	唔是
	Singapore (Teochew)	唔是, ⿱不是
	Wenchang	無是
Wu	Shanghai	勿是
	Suzhou	勿是
	Wenzhou	否是
Xiang	Changsha	不是
	Shuangfeng	不是

Derived terms

• 不是……就是…… (bùshì...jiùshì...)
• 不是……而是…… (bùshì...érshì...)

• 不是嗎／不是吗 (bùshì ma)
• 不是東西／不是东西 (bùshì dōngxi)

See also

• 是不是 (shìbùshì)

Noun

不是

1. fault; mistake; wrongdoing

   都是我的不是。  ―  Dōu shì wǒ de bùshì.  ―  It's all my fault.

   快去賠個不是。 / 快去赔个不是。  ―  Kuài qù péi ge bùshì.  ―  Quickly go and apologise.

Synonyms

edit

Synonyms of 不是

• 不好 (bùhǎo)
• 偏差 (piānchā)
• 問題／问题 (wèntí)
• 失誤／失误 (shīwù)
• 差失 (chāshī)
• 差池 (chāchí) (literary)
• 差舛 (chāchuǎn) (literary)
• 差誤／差误 (chāwù)
• 差錯／差错 (chācuò)
• 疏失 (shūshī) (careless mistake)

• 紕繆／纰缪 (pīmiù) (literary)
• 誤差／误差 (wùchā) (especially in data)
• 誤謬／误谬 (wùmiù) (fallacy)
• 謬誤／谬误 (miùwù) (fallacy)
• 責任／责任 (zérèn)
• 過失／过失 (guòshī)
• 過錯／过错 (guòcuò)
• 錯／错 (cuò)
• 錯誤／错误 (cuòwù)

Derived terms

• 賠不是／赔不是 (péibùshì)