课程 → Level 1 · 入门 → 课 4
Level 1 · Lesson 4 你是学生吗？
Are you a student?
你是学生吗？我不是学生，我是老师。
A 是 B for identity, 吗 for a yes-no question, 不 for the answer no.
听 · Listen
对话
Hello! Are you a student?
I am a student. Are you a student?
I am not a student — I am a teacher.
Is he a teacher?
He is not a teacher — he is a doctor.
Is she a doctor?
She is not a doctor — she is a student.
Thank you, Teacher Wang!
讲解 · Explanation
我是学生。他是医生。
A 是 B says that A and B are the same thing: 我是学生 'I am a student'. 是 shì links two nouns and does nothing else — it never changes shape for 我, 你 or 他, because Chinese verbs have no endings at all. There is also no article: 学生 covers 'a student' and 'the student' alike, and it is the same word whether you mean one student or a roomful.
你是学生吗？
Put 吗 ma at the end of a statement and it becomes a yes-no question. Nothing else moves: 你是学生 and 你是学生吗 have exactly the same word order. 吗 is toneless and light, so let it fall off the end of the sentence rather than stressing it.
我不是老师。
不 bù goes straight before the verb, so 'is not' is 不是. To answer a 吗 question with no, the natural pattern is to deny and then correct: 我不是学生，我是老师. Listen to the sound of 不 here: on its own it is bù, but before a fourth tone it changes to bú — bú shì, not bù shì.
生词 · Vocabulary
| 词 | Meaning | 注 · Note |
|---|---|---|
| 是 | to be (A is B) | never changes shape |
| 吗 | yes-no question particle | sentence-final, neutral tone |
| 不 | not | before the verb; said bú before a 4th tone |
| 学生 | student | second syllable neutral |
| 老师 | teacher | also used as an address: 王老师 |
| 医生 | doctor |
练习 · Practice
用一用 · Use it
我是学生。你是老师吗？他不是医生。
Say what you are: 我是 …. Then ask three people about themselves with 你是 … 吗？ and answer each one in the deny-and-correct shape: 我不是 …，我是 …. Keep 不是 crisp — bú shì, with the first syllable already rising.