不是 (bù shì) means is not; no.

Dictionary reading and meanings#

bù shì: no; is not; not

bù shi: fault; blame

Reading the pinyin#

For the alternative neutral-tone reading, this page uses an unmarked syllable instead of the source dictionary’s number 5. Open University’s tone guide illustrates unmarked neutral-tone syllables.

The spelling above follows the dictionary headword reading. It is a citation form, rather than a recording of a particular speaker. A written gloss is not a complete rule for choosing a word in every sentence.

Does this word always have one English translation?#

Use the listed sense that fits the sentence. Where the dictionary gives more than one reading or meaning, they are shown above rather than collapsed into a single universal translation.

Sources and lexical-data licence#

Lexical data adapted from CC-CEDICT contributors, distributed by MDBG, release dated 23 October 2026. English glosses have been shortened or reformatted here. This adapted lexical data is provided under CC BY-SA 4.0. The explanatory prose is newly written.

Download the cited dictionary release.