How to say “whether” in Chinese
whether, yes or no
“Whether” in Chinese is 是否, shì fǒu: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
是否 is read shì fǒu: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On top, 日 “sun”.
On top, 不 “not”; at the bottom, 口 “mouth”: to say “no”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “是否”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 是否. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我不知道他是否同意。wǒbùzhīdàotāshìfǒutóngyìI don’t know whether he agrees.
More words from the lesson “Looking for work”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “whether” in Chinese?
“Whether” in Chinese is 是否, pinyin shìfǒu.
What does 是否 mean?
是否 (shìfǒu) means “whether, yes or no”.
How do you write 是否?
是否 is 2 characters: 是 (shì) — be; 否 (fǒu) — no, not (literary). The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 是否?
是否 is read shìfǒu. Tones: shì — fourth tone, fǒu — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“whether” in the lesson “Looking for work”
This word is from the topic “Profession and plans” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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