是

Stroke order

Stroke order

是 (Kangxi radical 72, 日+5, 9 strokes, cangjie input 日一卜人 (AMYO), four-corner 6080₁, composition ⿱日𤴓 or ⿱旦龰)

1. Shuowen Jiezi radical №32

• 偍, 㔭, 㖷, 堤, 媞, 崼, 徥, 惿, 提, 湜, 隄, 遈, 㮛, 煶, 瑅, 禔, 䐎, 睼, 碮, 䅠, 褆, 䊓, 緹(缇), 蝭, 䚣, 諟 (𬤊), 䜻, 趧, 踶, 醍, 鍉, 鞮, 䪘, 騠 (𫘨), 鯷 (鳀)
• 㓳, 匙, 尟, 㼵, 韙(韪), 題(题), 鶗, 寔, 䈕, 翨, 𤟥, 𰁉

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 493, character 26
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 13859
• Dae Jaweon: page 858, character 6
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1497, character 5
• Unihan data for U+662F

Historical forms of the character 是
Shang	Western Zhou	Spring and Autumn	Warring States			Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)		Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Shizhoupian script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Originally a phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *djeʔ) : semantic 早 + phonetic 止 (OC *kjɯʔ), but the original meaning is unclear. It has been suggested that 早 looks like a spoon, so 是 may have been the original character for 匙 (OC *dje, “spoon”). As early as in late bronze inscriptions, the lower part of 早 split off and combined with 止 to give 昰, which carried over to the small seal script, and Shuowen considers this a compound of 日 (“sun”) + 正 (“upright; right”) (i.e. as the upright sun).

“This > this, it , be right, correct, so > to be, indeed”. The modern copulative sense only emerged by the Eastern Han dynasty (Dobson, 1964; Norman, 1988; Zürcher, 2013), and gradually replaced the archaic 唯 (OC *ɢʷi, “to be”) and the classical copulative construction with 也 (OC *laːlʔ).

This was due to the lack of a left-branching copula as archaic 唯 shifted into a contrasting and restricting particle, as well as its frequent use in presentational copulative constructions, often in the form of "A, 是 B 也" ("A, this is B"), which led to it being gradually reinterpreted as the copula instead of 也. Also note the semantic opposition with literary negative copula 非 (OC *pɯl) as in "right" and "wrong", which emerged by the Warring States period from the frequent collocation of the expression "是 X 也, 非 Y 也" (This is X, not Y) (Pulleyblank, 1995) .

To understand this development, compare 之 (OC *tjɯ, “him, it, this > possessive”), 其 (OC *kɯ, “he, his, its > dialectal possessive”). Compare French c’est which in colloquial speech often replaces copula est, as well as Japanese は, the topic particle like Old Chinese 者 (OC *tjaːʔ), 也 (OC *laːlʔ, “topicalizer”) and left-branching 夫 (OC *ba), but frequently misinterpreted as the copula by learners.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-daj ~ m-di (“that; this”). In Chinese, cognate with 寔 (OC *djɯɡ, “this (subject contrastive)”), 實 (OC *ɦliɡ, “this (subject contrastive)”), 之 (OC *tjɯ, “this; him; her; it (oblique)”), 諟 (OC *djeʔ, “to examine, to consider”). In Tibeto-Burman, cognate with Tibetan དེ (de, “that”), Jingpho dai, ndai (“this”), and Burmese ဒီ (di, “this”).

是

1. (literary) this; this thing

   是日  ―  shìrì  ―  this day

   • 是可忍，孰不可忍？ [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     Shì kě rěn, shú bù kě rěn?

     If this can be tolerated, what cannot?

   • 日出于暘谷，浴于咸池，拂于扶桑，是謂晨明。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     日出于旸谷，浴于咸池，拂于扶桑，是谓晨明。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Huainanzi, 2^nd century BCE

     Rì chū yú Yánggǔ, yù yú Xiánchí, fú yú Fúsāng, shì wèi chénmíng.

     The sun rises from Yanggu, bathes in Xianchi, and draws near to the Fusang: this is called Dawn.

   1. (literary, archaic) a pronoun that refers to an anteposed object of the verb, usually introduced by the a topicalizer or constrative like 唯 in the form of 唯 …… 是 + V, adding emphasis to the object of the verb. Compare 之 (zhī), which as a pronoun can also refers to the topic as the object, and in earlier forms was also placed before the verb.

      唯余馬首是瞻 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
      唯余马首是瞻 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

      From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

      wéi yú mǎ shǒu shì zhān

      Just look at my horse's head

      • 將虢是滅，何愛於虞？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
        将虢是灭，何爱于虞？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

        From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

        Jiāng guó shì miè, hé ài yú yú?

        If we shall annex Guo, why should we spare Yu ?

      • 我周之東遷，晉、鄭是依。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
        我周之东迁，晋、郑是依。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

        From: Guoyu, circa 4^th century BCE

        Wǒ Zhōu zhī dōngqiān, Jìn, Zhèng shì yī.

        That we the Zhou migrated East — that was wholly reliant on Jin and Zheng.

      • 今商王受，惟婦言是用。昏棄厥肆祀，弗答；昏棄厥遺王父母弟，不迪。乃惟四方之多罪逋逃，是崇是長，是信是使，是以為大夫卿士，俾暴虐于百姓，以奸宄于商邑。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
        今商王受，惟妇言是用。昏弃厥肆祀，弗答；昏弃厥遗王父母弟，不迪。乃惟四方之多罪逋逃，是崇是长，是信是使，是以为大夫卿士，俾暴虐于百姓，以奸宄于商邑。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

        From: The Book of Documents, circa 4^th – 3^rd century BCE

        Jīn Shāng wáng Shòu, wéi fù yán shì yòng. Hūn qì jué sì sì, fú dá; hūn qì jué yí wáng fùmǔ dì, bù dí. Nǎi wéi sìfāng zhī duō zuì bū táo, shì chóng shì cháng, shì xìn shì shǐ, shì yǐwèi dàfū qīng shì, bǐ bàonüè yú bǎixìng, yǐ jiānguǐ yú Shāng yì.

        Now Show, the king of Shang, follows only the words of his wife. He has blindly thrown away the sacrifices which he should present, and makes no response  ; he has blindly thrown away his paternal and maternal relatives, not treating them properly. They are only the vagabonds of the empire, loaded with crimes, whom he honours and exalts, whom he employs and trusts, making them great officers and nobles, so that they can tyrannize over the people, exercising their villainies in the city of Shang.

2. (copulative) to be
   1. indicating that the subject and object are the same.

      泰晤士河是英國第二長的河流。 [MSC, trad.]
      泰晤士河是英国第二长的河流。 [MSC, simp.]

      Tàiwùshìhé shì Yīngguó dì'èr cháng de héliú.

      The River Thames is the second longest river in the UK.

      • 跌倒的是一個女人，花白頭髮，衣服都很破爛。 [MSC, trad.]
        跌倒的是一个女人，花白头发，衣服都很破烂。 [MSC, simp.]

        From: 1920, Lu Xun, 一件小事 (An Incident)

        Diēdǎo de shì yī ge nǚrén, huābái tóufà, yīfú dōu hěn pòlàn.

        It was a woman, with streaks of white in her hair, wearing ragged clothes.

   2. indicating that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase.

      我是老師。／我是老师。  ―  Wǒ shì lǎoshī.  ―  I am a teacher.

      我是中國人。／我是中国人。  ―  Wǒ shì zhōngguórén.  ―  I am Chinese.

   3. indicating a place being occupied by the object, where the place forms the subject.

      房子前面是禾場。 [MSC, trad.]
      房子前面是禾场。 [MSC, simp.]

      Fángzǐ qiánmiàn shì hécháng.

      The threshing floor is in front of the house.

      到處都是／到处都是  ―  dàochù dōu shì  ―  to be everywhere

3. a particle emphasizing the word following it.

   我是昨天買的票。 [MSC, trad.]
   我是昨天买的票。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ shì zuótiān mǎi de piào.

   It was yesterday when I bought the ticket.

4. a particle showing agreement. In this meaning, 是 is stressed. truly; indeed.

   天氣是冷。／天气是冷。  ―  Tiānqì shì lěng.  ―  It is indeed cold.

   這件裙子是很漂亮，但是太貴了。 [MSC, trad.]
   这件裙子是很漂亮，但是太贵了。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhè jiàn qúnzi shì hěn piàoliàng, dànshì tài guì le.

   Although this dress is truly beautiful, it's too expensive.

5. a particle used in an alternative or a negative question

   你是喝茶還是喝咖啡？ [MSC, trad.]
   你是喝茶还是喝咖啡？ [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ shì hēchá háishì hē kāfēi?

   Would you like coffee or tea?

6. (in affirmative answers) yes; right

   你是張三嗎？是。 [MSC, trad.]
   你是张三吗？是。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ shì Zhāng Sān ma? Shì.

   Are you Zhang San? Yes.

   是，長官。／是，长官。  ―  Shì, zhǎngguān.  ―  Yes, sir.

   是，明白了。  ―  Shì, míngbái le.  ―  Yes, got it.

7. true; correct

   不是  ―  búshì  ―  fault; mistake; wrongdoing

   你說得是／你说得是  ―  nǐ shuō de shì  ―  What you said is right

   各行其是  ―  gè xíng qí shì  ―  to have each going his own way, i.e., doing what he considers right

   共商國是／共商国是  ―  gòng shāng guóshì  ―  to discuss national affairs (This is a fossil word from Ancient Chinese where 是 (OC *djeʔ) originally means "what is right (for the country)", i.e., "laws and policies")

   • 彼人是哉！子曰何其？ [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Bǐrén shì zāi! Zǐ yuē hé qí?

     Those men are / That man is right! What do you mean by your words?

8. a surname

When translated as "to be", 是 is used only to link two nouns or nominal expressions.

我是老師／我是老师  ―  wǒ shì lǎoshī  ―  I am a teacher

泰晤士河是英國第二長的河流。 [MSC, trad.]
泰晤士河是英国第二长的河流。 [MSC, simp.]

Tàiwùshìhé shì Yīngguó dì'èr cháng de héliú.

The River Thames is the second longest river in the UK.

是 is not used to link a noun and an adjective. The following sentence would be incorrect:

*這是好／*这是好  ―  * zhè shì hǎo  ―  *

The correct sentence is

這很好／这很好  ―  zhè hěn hǎo  ―  This is (very) good

Here, 很 (hěn) is used as a filler to link a noun and an adjective and is not interpreted as "very".

A way to use 是 with an adjective is to use 的 (de) after the adjective to turn it into a noun.

那隻貓是黑的／那只猫是黑的  ―  nà zhī māo shì hēi de  ―  This cat is black (This cat is a black one)

• Wutunhua: hai

是

1. (Northern Wu) Pronominal prefix

   是我 [Northern Wu]  ―  I, me

• “是”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• “Entry #5013”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

(Jōyō kanji)

1. this
2. right, correct, just
3. indicates agreement or affirmation

• Go-on: ぜ (ze, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: し (shi)
• Kun: これ (kore, 是)、この (kono, 是)、ここ (koko, 是)
• Nanori: これ (kore)、すなお (sunao)、ただし (tadashi)、つな (tsuna)、ゆき (yuki)、よし (yoshi)

From Middle Chinese 是 (MC dzyeX)

• (Tokyo) ぜ (Atamadaka – )^[1]
• IPA^(key):

是(ぜ) • (ze) 

1. right, justice

   是(ぜ)と非(ひ)を区別(くべつ)する

   ze to hi o kubetsu suru

   to tell apart right and wrong