Chinese grammar - Negation using 不 (bù)

Negation using 不 (bù)

The negation marker 不 (bù) is used to negate most Chinese verbs, including 是 (shì).

— So 不是 (bú shì) means 'to not be', as in 'I am not…' etc.

Note that in spoken Mandarin Chinese, the tone of bù (4th tone) changes to bú (2nd tone) when it is followed by another 4th tone (such as is 是). This tone change is called 'tone sandhi' (变调, biàndiào) and is explained in the introduction to the book.

Examples:
	我不是学生。 wǒ bú shì xuéshēng. I am not [a] student. 不 (bù) means 'not'
	你不是老师。 nǐ bú shì lǎoshī. You are not [a] teacher.
	他不是中国人。 tā bú shì zhōngguó rén. He is not [a] Chinese [person].
	我不是美国人。 wǒ bú shì měiguó rén. I am not [an] American.
	你不是医生。 nǐ bú shì yīshēng. You are not [a] doctor. 医生 (yīshēng) means 'doctor'
	他不是工程师。 tā bú shì gōngchéngshī. He is not [an] engineer. 工程师 (gōngchéngshī) means 'engineer'
	我不是老师，我是学生。 wǒ bú shì lǎoshī,#wǒ shì xuéshēng. I am not [a] teacher, I am [a] student.
	你不是学生，你是医生。 nǐ bú shì xuéshēng,#nǐ shì yīshēng. You are not [a] student, you are [a] doctor.
	他不是工程师，他是老师。 tā bú shì gōngchéngshī,#tā shì lǎoshī. He is not [an] engineer, he is [a] teacher.
	我不是医生，我是工程师。 wǒ bú shì yīshēng,#wǒ shì gōngchéngshī. I am not [a] doctor, I am [an] engineer.