<p>As a native speaker, I think my answer could be referenced.</p>
<p>In most cases, 是 represents a positive feeling, like &quot;is&quot; or &quot;yes&quot;.</p>
<p>For example, in 是...的(when ... is an adjective), it just means &quot;is,&quot; but when ... is a noun, it means something &quot;belongs&quot; to someone (possessive), and 是的 means &quot;yes&quot; in a more confident way than 是.</p>
<p>It could also be a last name according to the dictionary.</p>
<p>In original Chinese, it's more difficult to understand (even native speakers struggle to understand).</p>
<p>for more information, you can look at <a href="https://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=8779&amp;la=0&amp;powerMode=0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=8779&amp;la=0&amp;powerMode=0</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-22T13:49:29.577Z
2024-10-22T13:52:04.467Z
2024-10-22T13:52:04.467Z
知識日常 Know Scratcher
<p>I think you can translate <code>is</code>(or am) to <code>是</code>, but may be <code>to be</code> can't(or most of the time) translate as <code>是</code>.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m disappointed, to be honest. 说实话，我很失望。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>or</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m disappointed, to be honest. 说实话，我是失望的。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Pay attention to the &quot;to be&quot; above. Usually see <code>to be honest</code> as a phrase，翻译为<code>说实话</code> or <code>老实说</code>，一般应该很少把<code>to be</code>翻译为<code>是</code>。</p>
<p>通常把<code>is</code>翻译为<code>是</code>，翻译的时候要根据具体的上下文，如果你有例子是最好了。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-23T05:26:35.883Z
2024-10-23T05:26:35.883Z
Tom
<p>I'm very much a beginner here learning Chinese and am likely to use the wrong grammatical terminology.</p>
<p>I know that you can use 是 to equate a subject to a subject complement (e.g. <code>he is a student</code>). But I've the usage of 是 ... 的 show up in order to emphasize a detail or ask a question with emphasis on a detail.</p>
<p>My question is, does 是 roughly mean &quot;to be&quot;/&quot;is&quot; and if it does, how do I make sense of that with 是 ... 的 constructions when translating it to English. It feels like 是 in 是 ... 的 deserves a different meaning here. If there's some history I'm missing here on the development of 是, I'd love to know that as well!</p>

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2024-07-11T18:51:35.047Z
Are you sure about the "meaning" of "to be / is" first? As a copula, aka joiner, even the confounded Western linguists will affirm, in such usage "to be / is " have no meaning. 是的, 没问题. Can you tell me please, what "be" "means"?
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-11T19:05:26.390Z
Please provide examples of sentences in "是 ... 的" construction. Note that "是的" is the simple expression of "Yes" without a word or words in between. But I don't think that is your question.
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-11T22:35:51.180Z
My working theory that I used to explain 是 to myself is that the original/root meaning is "is true" or "is the case". Other verbs which mean "to be" can have a different derivation, e.g. 系 (“can be categorised as") or 为 ("acts as").
河南宝宝
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2024-07-12T01:01:15.163Z
@河南宝宝 I like that line of reasoning!
edaniels
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2024-07-12T02:39:07.160Z
@edaniels full disclosure it's just what seemed to make sense to me at the time, no guarantee that it is academically rigorous
河南宝宝
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-17T10:12:39.900Z
refer to this answer here about the usage of 的 https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/53539/use-of-final-%e7%9a%84-de-with-the-verb-%e6%9c%83-%e4%bc%9a-hu%c3%ac?rq=1 .
Travis Su
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-23T02:41:01.110Z
I'm Chinese. What is mean of cleft? I can understand copula, but I can't understand cleft in your problem.
Tom
<grammar><history>
Does shi 是 have multiple meanings between copula and cleft?
# Does shi 是 have multiple meanings between copula and cleft?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-07-11)

I'm very much a beginner here learning Chinese and am likely to use the wrong grammatical terminology.

I know that you can use 是 to equate a subject to a subject complement (e.g. `he is a student`). But I've the usage of 是 ... 的 show up in order to emphasize a detail or ask a question with emphasis on a detail.

My question is, does 是 roughly mean "to be"/"is" and if it does, how do I make sense of that with 是 ... 的 constructions when translating it to English. It feels like 是 in 是 ... 的 deserves a different meaning here. If there's some history I'm missing here on the development of 是, I'd love to know that as well!

**Tags:** grammar, history
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Are you sure about the "meaning" of "to be / is" first? As a copula, aka joiner, even the confounded Western linguists will affirm, in such usage "to be / is " have no meaning. 是的, 没问题. Can you tell me please, what "be" "means"?  
> **username_2**: Please provide examples of sentences in "是 ... 的" construction. Note that "是的" is the simple expression of "Yes" without a word or words in between. But I don't think that is your question.  
> **username_3**: My working theory that I used to explain 是 to myself is that the original/root meaning is "is true" or "is the case". Other verbs which mean "to be" can have a different derivation, e.g. 系 (“can be categorised as") or 为 ("acts as").  
> **username_0**: @河南宝宝 I like that line of reasoning!  
> **username_3**: @edaniels full disclosure it's just what seemed to make sense to me at the time, no guarantee that it is academically rigorous  
> **username_4**: refer to this answer here about the usage of 的 https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/53539/use-of-final-%e7%9a%84-de-with-the-verb-%e6%9c%83-%e4%bc%9a-hu%c3%ac?rq=1 .  
> **username_5**: I'm Chinese. What is mean of cleft? I can understand copula, but I can't understand cleft in your problem.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2024-10-22. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

As a native speaker, I think my answer could be referenced.

In most cases, 是 represents a positive feeling, like "is" or "yes".

For example, in 是...的(when ... is an adjective), it just means "is," but when ... is a noun, it means something "belongs" to someone (possessive), and 是的 means "yes" in a more confident way than 是.

It could also be a last name according to the dictionary.

In original Chinese, it's more difficult to understand (even native speakers struggle to understand).

for more information, you can look at <https://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=8779&la=0&powerMode=0>


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### Answer by username_5 on 2024-10-23. Score: 0

I think you can translate `is`(or am) to `是`, but may be `to be` can't(or most of the time) translate as `是`.

For example:

> I’m disappointed, to be honest. 说实话，我很失望。

or

> I’m disappointed, to be honest. 说实话，我是失望的。

Pay attention to the "to be" above. Usually see `to be honest` as a phrase，翻译为`说实话` or `老实说`，一般应该很少把`to be`翻译为`是`。

通常把`is`翻译为`是`，翻译的时候要根据具体的上下文，如果你有例子是最好了。


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