Yes & No

Yes and No in Mandarin

There’s no single word for yes or no in Mandarin. Tap through the ways to agree, confirm, accept, and refuse, and hear every one.

In Mandarin Chinese (普通话pǔ tōng huà), there isn’t one universal word for “yes” or “no.” The expression changes depending on whether you’re agreeing, confirming, accepting an offer, or refusing something.

Ways to say YES

是shì / 对duì / 好hǎo… Tap a word to hear it.

是shì

Yes / That’s correct

Why this is good practice

Answer with the verb, not with “yes” ✅

Mandarin answers a yes-no question by repeating its verb: 有yǒu or 没有méi yǒu, 可以kě yǐ or 不可以bù kě yǐ. Learning the pairs together trains you to listen for the verb in every question.

Say each pair out loud. Notice how 不bù changes to bú before a fourth tone, and you’ll avoid one of the most common beginner mistakes.