| Trad. | Simp. | Pinyin | English |
| 搬弄是非 | bān nòng shì fēi | sow discord; tell tales; make mischief | |
| 比比皆是 | bǐ bǐ jiē shì | can be found everywhere | |
| 不是 | bú shì | (v) not be; (n) blame or fault | |
| 不是嗎 | 不是吗 | bú shì ma | isn't it |
| 不幸的是 | bú xìng de shì | unfortunately | |
| 不是玩兒的 | 不是玩儿的 | bù shì wán er de | it's no joke |
| 不是味兒 | 不是味儿 | bù shì wèi er | not the right flavor; not quite right; a bit off; fishy; queer; amiss; feel bad; be upset |
| 但是 | dàn shì | but; however | |
| 凡是 | fán shì | every; all | |
| 光是 | guāng shì | solely; just | |
| 還是 | 还是 | hái shì | or; still; nevertheless |
| 或是 | huò shì | (conj) either X or Y | |
| 教授畢竟是教授 | 教授毕竟是教授 | jiào shòu bì jìng shì jiào shòu | professors are (after all) professors |
| 就是 | jiù shì | (emphasizes that something is precisely or exactly what is stated); precisely; exactly; even; if; just like; in the same way as | |
| 就是說 | 就是说 | jiù shì shuō | in other words; that is |
| 可不是 | kě bu shì | that's just the way it is; exactly | |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however | |
| 老是 | lǎo shi | always | |
| 莫衷一是 | mò zhōng yī shì | cannot decide which is right | |
| 乃是 | nǎi shì | to be | |
| 若是 | ruò shì | if | |
| 甚麼是 | 甚么是 | shén me shì | what is ...? |
| 失敗是成功之母 | 失败是成功之母 | shī bài shì chéng gōng zhī mǔ | "Failure is the mother of success" (proverb) |
| 實事求是 | 实事求是 | shí shì qiú shì | be practical and realistic |
| 是 | shì | is; are; am; yes; to be | |
| 是不是 | shì bù shì | is or isn't; yes or no; whether or not | |
| 是的 | shì de | yes | |
| 是非 | shì fēi | right and wrong; quarrel | |
| 是否 | shì fǒu | whether (or not); if; is or isn't | |
| 似是而非 | sì shì ér fēi | (saying) appeared right but actually was wrong | |
| 算是 | suàn shì | considered to be; at last | |
| 特別是 | 特别是 | tè bié shì | especially |
| 頭頭是道 | 头头是道 | tóu tóu shì dào | clear and logical |
| 要不是 | yào bu shì | if it were not for; but for | |
| 要是 | yào shì | if | |
| 有的是 | yǒu de shì | have plenty of; there's no lack of | |
| 於是 | 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 原因是 | yuán yīn shì | the reason is ... | |
| 真是 | zhēn shì | (idiom) "it is truly..." | |
| 真是的 | zhēn shì de | (idiom) ?it truly is? (expressing dissatisfaction) | |
| 值得注意的是 | zhí de zhù yì de shì | it's worth noting that... | |
| 只是 | zhǐ shì | merely; simply; only; but | |
| 重要的是 | zhòng yào de shì | It is important (that) ... | |
| 總是 | 总是 | zǒng shì | always |
Click on the pinyin to hear it pronounced. The simplified version is shown only if different from the traditional.
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