How to use 对不对、是不是、好不好
⋯⋯是不是 / 对不对 / 好不好 ?
A short affirmative and negative question can be attached to a statement as a tag. The main clause presents the information, while the final tag asks the listener to confirm it or agree to it. Unlike English tag questions, the Chinese tag does not need to copy the main clause's tense or auxiliary verb.
对不对 and 是不是 commonly check whether information is correct. 好不好 often asks for acceptance of a suggestion or arrangement. Choose the tag according to what response you want, rather than translating English “isn't it” literally. A tag can follow a positive or negative statement, so the content before it does not determine its form automatically.
Examples with pinyin and English
你会说中文， 对不对？
You speak Chinese, right?
他是你的老板， 对不对？
He's your boss, right?
我们是好朋友， 对不对？
We are good friends, right?
你昨天没回家， 对不对？
You didn't come back home yesterday, right?
九点开会， 是不是？
We are going to hold a meeting at 9, right?
我们回家吧， 好不好？
Let's go home, OK?
What to remember
- Attach the tag after the statement.
- Use 好不好 to seek agreement.
- Choose tags by conversational purpose.
Practise the pattern
Practise this topic with the app’s grammar exercises. Your answers and review dates are saved separately from vocabulary practice.
Practise this grammar topic ↗Look up the grammar words
Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.