shí

Shì is a Mandarin Chinese pinyin syllable in the fourth tone, common in many characters and words. It is most often written as 是, meaning “to be,” and it also appears in other widely used characters such as 事 (matter), 市 (market), 试 (to try), 式 (form), 视 (to look), and 势 (power or tendency). Although these characters share the same pronunciation, their meanings are distinct and must be inferred from context and written form.

In pronunciation, shì features a falling tone and an initial consonant that is a retroflex sibilant, followed by a one-syllable vowel. The tone contour and the exact pronunciation can vary slightly with regional accents, but the fourth-tone rise is maintained in standard Mandarin.

The word is most recognizable as the copula is, used to link a subject with a predicate in nominal or nominalized predication. For example, in 他是学生 (He is a student) and 这是我的书 (This is my book), 是 functions as a linking verb. 是 also appears in emphatic or focusing constructions, such as the 是...的 pattern used to stress specific information: 这是我买的书 (This is the book I bought).

In everyday use, 是 should not be confused with other shì-syllable characters that have the same tone but different meanings. Determining the correct character depends on the written form, context, and surrounding words. The most frequent usage is as the copula, but the syllable also appears in many common nouns, verbs, and modifiers across Chinese vocabulary.