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Asked 'Is that rice?', how do you answer 'No, it isn't' in Mandarin?

Bú shì (不是), it is not.

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  1. Méiyǒu (没有)
  2. Bú shì (不是) ✔
  3. Bú yào (不要)

Why: Bú shì means 'is not', the no answer to a shì question. Bú yào means don't or I don't want, and méiyǒu means don't have.

Huh, didn't know that: Peace Corps notes bù (no) comes before the verb to say that something does not happen.

The dad joke
No means no, and in Mandarin it even changes its tone to make the point.
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References

Answer: Bú shì (不是). Bú shì means 'is not', the no answer to a shì question. Bú yào means don't or I don't want, and méiyǒu means don't have.

  1. Peace Corps China, Chinese Basic Lessons for Invitees (Mandarin) files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/audio/languagelessons/thepeoplesrepublicofchina/CN_Mandarin_Language_Lessons.pdf
    Is that rice?
    Checked 2026-10-12.
  2. MDBG Chinese Dictionary (CC-CEDICT): 不是 www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E4%B8%8D%E6%98%AF
    no / is not / not
    Checked 2026-10-12.
  3. MDBG Chinese Dictionary (CC-CEDICT): 不要 www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E4%B8%8D%E8%A6%81
    don't!; must not
    Checked 2026-10-12.

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