Mandarin has no single word for yes or no. You answer by echoing the verb from the question. 你去吗？ is answered 去 or 不去. 你有时间吗？ is answered 有 or 没有. The nearest all purpose words are 对 (duì, that is right), 是 (shì, for 是 questions) and 嗯 (ng, a casual acknowledgement). To say no, put 不 in front of the verb, except with 有, which takes 没.
You learn 你好 and 谢谢 in your first hour of Chinese. Then you go looking for "yes," which surely must be the third word anyone learns, and the dictionary hands you four options with no explanation of when to use which. It is not a gap in your textbook. Mandarin genuinely does not work that way, and once you see the actual system it turns out to be simpler than English, not harder.
The rule: answer with the verb
A Chinese question carries the verb you are supposed to reply with. Your job is to hand it back, either bare for yes or with a negator for no.
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| 你去吗？ nǐ qù ma? Are you going? | 去。 qù | 不去。 bú qù |
| 你是学生吗？ nǐ shì xuésheng ma? Are you a student? | 是。 shì | 不是。 bú shì |
| 你有时间吗？ nǐ yǒu shíjiān ma? Do you have time? | 有。 yǒu | 没有。 méiyǒu |
| 你会说中文吗？ nǐ huì shuō Zhōngwén ma? Can you speak Chinese? | 会。 huì | 不会。 bú huì |
| 你喜欢吗？ nǐ xǐhuan ma? Do you like it? | 喜欢。 xǐhuan | 不喜欢。 bù xǐhuan |
One irregularity, and it is the only one you need to memorise: 有 is negated with 没, never with 不. 不有 does not exist in Mandarin. Every other verb in the table takes 不.
The four words that come closest to "yes"
是 against 对
These two get confused constantly, and the distinction is clean once stated. 是 confirms identity or category, and it belongs to questions that used the verb 是. 对 confirms that a statement is factually correct, and it can answer almost anything.
If you are unsure which to use, 对 is almost never wrong. 是的 (shì de) is a slightly more formal, more complete sounding version of 是, common in customer service and on the phone.
Saying yes to a request is a different word again
When someone asks you to do something, or proposes a plan, you are not confirming a fact. You are agreeing. Chinese uses a separate set of words here, and using 是 instead would sound strange.
| Word | Pinyin | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| 好 | hǎo | Simple agreement. "OK." |
| 好的 | hǎo de | Warmer and more complete. The everyday default. |
| 行 | xíng | "That works." Slightly more casual and practical. |
| 可以 | kěyǐ | "That is permitted / I can." Answers requests for permission. |
| 当然 | dāngrán | "Of course." Warm and emphatic. |
| 没问题 | méi wèntí | "No problem." Confident agreement. |
Note that 行 here is xíng, not háng. Same character, and the wrong reading turns "that works" into a word meaning a line or a trade. It is the same trap you meet in 银行 yínháng, bank.
Negative questions, where English speakers go wrong
Here is the one place the system will actively betray your instincts. When the question is already negative, Chinese confirms the statement, not the polarity. English confirms the polarity. They produce opposite answers.
Read those twice. 对 agrees that you are not going. 不 contradicts the question and says you are. An English speaker who says "yes" meaning "yes, I am going" will reach for 对 and communicate exactly the opposite. The safe habit while this is settling: never answer a negative question with a bare word. Add the verb clause, and the ambiguity disappears.
不 against 没
Both mean not. They are not interchangeable, and mixing them is one of the most audible learner errors.
| 不 | 没 | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | present, future, habits, willingness | the past, and completed events |
| Example | 我不去。 | 我没去。 |
| Meaning | I am not going / I will not go | I did not go |
| With 有 | never | always: 没有 |
A useful shortcut: 不 is about intention and general truth, 没 is about things that did not happen. 我不吃肉 means you do not eat meat as a rule. 我没吃肉 means you did not eat meat on this occasion.
Saying no without sounding blunt
A bare 不 is grammatically fine and socially cold, in roughly the way that answering an invitation with a flat "no" is in English. Chinese has a well worn set of softer moves.
| Phrase | Pinyin | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 不用了，谢谢 | bú yòng le, xièxie | Declines an offer. "No need, thanks." The standard polite refusal. |
| 不好意思 | bù hǎoyìsi | Softens whatever follows. "Sorry, but..." |
| 改天吧 | gǎitiān ba | Postpones an invitation. "Another day then." |
| 我看看吧 | wǒ kànkan ba | "Let me see." Non committal, usually understood as a soft no. |
| 再说吧 | zài shuō ba | "We will talk about it later." Also generally a polite decline. |
| 恐怕不行 | kǒngpà bù xíng | "I am afraid that will not work." Clear but courteous. |
The last two are worth flagging for learners who take things literally. 我看看吧 and 再说吧 are usually not requests for more time. They are refusals delivered in a way that lets everyone keep their composure, and following up three times to get a definite answer reads as not having heard the first one.
Yes and no in one glance
- There is no single word. Echo the verb from the question.
- No means 不 + verb, except 有, which takes 没有.
- 对 is the safest general yes. 是 belongs to 是 questions.
- Agreeing to a request uses 好的, 行, 可以, 没问题.
- Negative questions confirm the statement, so 对 means "right, I am not."
- 不 is intention and habit. 没 is the past.
- Soften refusals with 不用了，谢谢 or 改天吧.
These answers only feel natural once you have heard them
Reading a table of replies is not the same as producing one at conversational speed. Hanzijo's conversation track puts these exchanges into full dialogues with native audio, play along highlighting so you can follow the line as it is spoken, and shadowing practice that trains your mouth on the real rhythm. Underneath sit the HSK 1 to 9 vocabulary and grammar banks, character mnemonics and a 7 stage SRS engine that brings each word back before you lose it.
Learn Chinese with Hanzijo - FreeFrequently asked questions
How do you say yes in Chinese?
By repeating the verb of the question. 你去吗？ is answered 去. If you need a standalone word, 对 works for confirming a statement, 是 for 是 questions, and 嗯 as a casual acknowledgement.
How do you say no in Chinese?
Put 不 before the verb from the question: 不去, 不是, 不会. The single exception is 有, which becomes 没有.
What is the difference between 是 and 对?
是 confirms identity or category and answers 是 questions. 对 confirms that a statement is correct and works almost everywhere. When in doubt, use 对.
How do you answer a negative question?
Chinese confirms the statement rather than the polarity. To 你不去吗？, saying 对 means "right, I am not going," and saying 不 means "no, I am going." Add the full clause until this feels automatic.
Is it rude to just say 不?
It is blunt rather than rude, but softer options exist and are used constantly. 不用了，谢谢 declines an offer gracefully, and 改天吧 postpones an invitation without closing the door.