20 Different Ways to Say 'Yes' and 'No' in Mandarin Chinese

Let’s start off with revealing this absolute whopper of a fact:

There is no direct translation for ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in Mandarin Chinese.

You might be thinking, “How is this even possible!?”

Well in this post, I’ll show you how.

If you can’t be bothered to read the examples below, I’ve made a table with all of the different variations of how to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in Chinese.

However, I do strongly recommend reading the full post so you can learn more about the context of each one.

How to say YES:

English	Chinese	Pinyin
‘Right’ or ‘That’s it’	是, 是的	Shì, Shì de
‘Right’ or ‘Correct’	对	Duì
‘Good’, ‘OK’ or ‘Fine’	好, 好的	Hǎo, Hǎo de
‘No problem’	没问题	Méi wèntí
‘Of course’	当然	Dāngrán
‘Uh-huh’ or ‘Yeah’	嗯	èn
‘OK’	行	xíng
‘That’s right’	没错	méicuò

How to say NO:

‘No’ or ‘Not’	不是，不是的	bùshì, bùshì de
‘Not possible’ or ‘No way’	不可能	Bù kěnéng
‘No’ or ‘No thanks’	不用	bùyòng
‘Don’t have’	没有	Méiyǒu
‘Not OK’	不行	Bùxíng
‘Can’t do’	不可以	Bù kěyǐ
‘Incorrect’	不对	bùduì
‘Sorry’	不好意思，抱歉	bù hǎoyìsi, bàoqiàn

DIFFERENT WAYS TO SAY ‘YES’ IN CHINESE

是 (Shì) Or 是的 (Shì de) – ‘Right’ or ‘That’s it’

是 (Shì) is the most common verb you’ll hear in Chinese, and it simply means ‘to be’. Often when asked questions in Chinese, if you want to answer affirmatively, you will often repeat the verb in question. Let’s look at a few examples using 是 (Shì).

A: 这是你的书吗？
Zhè shì nǐ de shū ma?
Is This Your Book?
B: 是的。
Shì de
Yes

Now let’s look at a few other examples where we repeat the verb from the question to say ‘yes’.

A: 你喜欢巧克力吗？
Nǐ xǐhun qiǎokèlì ma?
Do you like chocolate?
B: 我喜欢。
Wǒ xǐhuān
(Yes) I like it.

A: 你会游泳吗？
Nǐ huì yóuyǒng ma?
Can you swim?
B: 我会。
Wǒ huì.
(Yes) I can.

A: 你在墙上画了这幅画吗？
Nǐ zài qiáng shàng huàle zhè fú huà ma?
Did you draw this picture on the wall?
B: 我画了。
Wǒ huàle
(Yes) I drew it.

对 (Duì) – ‘Right’ or ‘Correct’

对 (Duì) is another way to say yes in Chinese which means ‘right’ or ‘correct’. It is similar to 的 (Shì de), and in some cases, both ‘是的’ and ‘对’ can be used interchangeably. Let’s take a look at some examples:

A: 我认为这是完美的, 对吧？
Wǒ rènwéi zhè shì wánměi de, duì ba?
I think this is perfect, right?
B: 对。
duì.
That’s correct.

Say 好 (Hǎo) or 好的 (Hǎo de) – ‘Good’, ‘OK’ or ‘Fine’

A：我们去散步。好吧？
Wǒmen qù sànbù。Hǎo ba？
We’re going for a walk, OK?
B: 好的
Hǎo de
Okay

没问题 (Méi wèntí) – ‘No problem’

Saying ‘no problem’ is another way to answer in the affirmative.

A: 我要偷你所有的钱
Wǒ yào tōu nǐ suǒyǒu de qián
I’m going to steal all of your money.
B: 没问题。
Méi wèntí.
No problem.

当然 (Dāngrán) – ‘Of Course’

A: 你能帮我一下吗?
Nǐ néng bāng wǒ yīxià ma?
Can you please help me out?
B: 当然可以
Dāngrán kěyǐ
Of course I can.

嗯 (èn) – ‘Uh huh’ or ‘Yeah’

嗯 (èn) is a really informal affirmative response, most similar to “yeah” or “uh-huh” in English.

You’ll find it most frequently used in messaging services like WeChat and on other Chinese social media.

Just like “uh-huh” in English, it sometimes sounds a bit noncommittal.

A: 我能请你吃晚饭吗？
wǒ nénɡ qǐnɡ nǐ chī wǎn fàn mɑ ？
May I invite you to have dinner with me?
B: 嗯
Èn.
Uh-huh.

行 (xíng) – ‘OK’

This version of OK is usually a response to requests for permission. For example:

A: 我可以再吃一块芝士蛋糕吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ zài chī yīkuài zhīshì dàngāo ma?
Can I have another piece of cheesecake?
B: 行。
OK.
Xíng.

没错 (méicuò) – ‘That’s right’

没错 (méicuò) is often used when agreeing with someone else’s opinion, and is the equivalent of English phrases like “that’s true” or “that’s right.”

If you break down the separate character meanings of this word, you have ‘没’ meaning ‘not’, and ‘错’ meaning ‘mistake’. In English, you will sometimes hear this direct translation, too.

“This steak and ale pie is fantastic!”

“You’re not wrong!”

A: 斯堪的纳维亚人真的很高。
Sī kān dì nà wéi yǎ rén zhēn de hěn gāo.
People from Scandinavia are really tall.
B: 没错。
Méicuò.
That’s right.

HOW TO SAY ‘NO’ IN CHINESE

In Mandarin Chinese, the most common declination phrase you’ll hear will usually include the word 不 (bù).

Even though native speakers will understand what you mean if they ask you a question and you reply with ‘bù’, it’s
not grammatically correct. Remember, there is no direct equivalent of ‘no’. It may even come off as a bit or rude to some people.

不 (bù) – ‘No’ (kind of)

So in other words, you can use that word when you are unhappy with someone and you don’t want to speak to
them again anytime soon. For example…

A: 对不起，我杀了你的宠物。我们明天还能出去玩吗？
Duìbùqǐ, wǒ shāle nǐ de chǒngwù. Wǒmen míngtiān hái néng chūqù wán ma?
I’m sorry I killed your pet. Can we still hang out tomorrow?
B: 不。
Bù.
No.

However, if you’re looking to add variety to your language and speak more fluently, check out the different variations of ‘no’ in Chinese.

不是 (bùshì) – ‘No’ or ‘Not’

不是 (Bùshì) literally means ‘to not be’. It’s the total opposite of 是 (shì) meaning ‘to be’. Usually, 不是 (bùshì) is used to disagree or dispute the truth of something someone is saying. For example:

A: 你是英语老师吗？
Nǐ shì yīngyǔ lǎoshī ma
Are you an English teacher?
B: 不是
Bùshì
No, I’m not.

不是的 (bùshìde) is a slightly more formal way of saying the same thing.

A: 这是你的脏内裤吗？
Zhè shì nǐ de zàng nèikù ma?
Are these your dirty underpants?
B: 不是的。
Bùshì de.
No, they’re not.

不可能 (Bù kěnéng) – ‘No way’ or ‘Not possible’

This is one of the strongest negative answers you can give (unless you use profanity). You can use it to let someone know that whatever they’ve said is completely out of the question.

A: 我可以从上海游泳到纽约吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ cóng shànghǎi yóuyǒng dào niǔyuē ma?
Can I swim from Shanghai to New York?
B: 不可能！
Bù kěnéng
No way!

不用 (bùyòng) – ‘No’ or ‘No thanks’

If you’re looking for a much softer and polite way to say no (compared to ‘不可能‘ (Bù kěnéng), you can use 不用 (bùyòng) instead.

The literal translation of 不用 is ‘Don’t use’, but this isn’t it’s actual meaning in Chinese. Basically, it’s just a polite refusal.

A: 你有兴趣加入我们的俱乐部吗？
Nǐ yǒu xìngqù jiārù wǒmen de jùlèbù ma?
Are you interested in joining our club?
B: 不用。
Bùyòng.
No thanks.

没有 (Méiyǒu) – ‘Don’t have’

If we break down 没有 (méiyǒu) and look at the individual characters, we get 没 (méi), which means ‘not’ and (yǒu), which means ‘to have.’ 没有 (méiyǒu) is most commonly used is to tell someone that you don’t have something.

A: 你有长颈鹿我可以借吗？
Nǐ yǒu chángjǐnglù wǒ kěyǐ jiè ma?
Do you have a giraffe I could borrow?
B: 我没有。
Wǒ méiyǒu
No, I don’t (have).

不行 (Bùxíng) – ‘Not alright’ or ‘No’

The meaning of the word 行 (xíng) is ‘All right’ or ‘OK’. With the addition of 不 ‘bú’ in front of it, we get ‘Not OK’.
It can be used when replying to many different questions, but I hear it most frequently in the context of unreasonable demands.

A: 你会给我1000万美元吗
Nǐ huì gěi wǒ 1000 wàn měiyuán ma?
Will you give me 10 million dollars?
B: 不行
Bùxíng
No.

不可以 (Bù kěyǐ) – ‘Cannot’

We know that 可以 (Kěyǐ) means ‘can’, so 不可以 (Bù kěyǐ) means ‘cannot’. It’s used most commonly when responding negatively to a request or question.

A: 我们可以坐在草地上吗？
Wǒmen kěyǐ zuò zài cǎodì shàng ma?
Are we allowed to sit on the grass?
B: 不可以。
Bù kěyǐ.
No, you can’t.

不对 (bùduì) – ‘Not right’ or ‘Incorrect’

The Chinese word 对 (duì) means ‘correct’ or ‘right’. Just like ‘bùshì’, when you add 不 (bù) in front of it,
you create the opposite. 不对 (bùduì) is best used when you don’t agree with a statement, opinion, or action taken
by someone else.

A: 我觉得你闻起来很臭。

Wǒ juédé nǐ wén qǐlái hěn chòu.

I think you smell bad.

B: 不对, 我刚刚洗澡了！

Bùduì, wǒ gānggāng xǐzǎole！

That’s not right, I just took a shower.

不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi), 抱歉 (bàoqiàn) – ‘Sorry’

Saying sorry is a great way to politely decline a request. Usually, you’ll follow up with an excuse.

A: 你明天来参加我的聚会吗？
Nǐ míngtiān lái cānjiā wǒ de jùhuì ma?
Are you coming to my party tomorrow?
B: 不好意思，我明天忙着洗头。
Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ míngtiān mángzhe xǐ tóu.
Sorry, tomorrow I’m busy washing my hair.

20 Different Ways to Say ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ in Mandarin Chinese