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It is different. "是的" means "That's correct"; So if someone ask me "you don't smoke?" and I answer "是的" that means I don't smoke, which is actually what "no" me

It is different. "是的" means "That's correct"; So if someone ask me "you don't smoke?" and I answer "是的" that means I don't smoke, which is actually what "no" means in standard English.

thaumasiotes 4y ago
> So if someone ask me "you don't smoke?" and I answer "是的" that means I don't smoke, which is actually what "no" means in standard English. I don't think there's much to be learned by trying to examine this situation in English. Affirmative answers to negative questions are a source of frequent confusion among native speakers, suggesting that the rules of English are not clear on this point. If you said to me 你不是犹太人吧？, and I responded 是的, what would you think?
- derekzhouzhen 4y ago
  There are clear rules in English and Chinese. English is absolute so "yes" means I am. Chinese is an echo language so "是的" means you are correct that I am not. However, I do see Chinese making mistakes in English and English speakers making mistakes in Chinese and I am not 100% free of the guilt. In the question "你不是犹太人吧？" there is already a "是“ in it, so a native speaker would use "对“ or "没错“ instead of "是的". They all means "correct" but by avoiding using "是" again, the chance of misunderstanding is minimized.
  - thaumasiotes 4y ago
    I guess I have to draw your attention to these two sentences: > There are clear rules in English and Chinese. > They all mean "correct" but by avoiding using "是" again, the chance of misunderstanding is minimized. If the rules were clear, there would be no misunderstanding.
    - derekzhouzhen 4y ago
      I mean there are clear rules in both English and Chinese `officially`. However, Chinese is such a lax language and can convey very different meanings with just tone differences, you don't want to take the chance if there is a better way.
- blagie 4y ago
  I think a better example wouldn't use 是. For example: 你去不去商店吗? (Are you going to the store?) The way to answer is either going (去) or not going (不去). There are a lot of phrase for "that's right" or similar, but that's not the same as "yes." Mandarin has no word directly mapping to "yes."
  - thaumasiotes 4y ago
    I put the 是 in that example on purpose, because it forces the response 是的 to be ambiguous between opposite meanings. Your example is not in the form of a yes-or-no question[1], so it's not surprising or interesting that the answer can't be "yes". We see exactly the same phenomenon in English: Q: Are you going to the store or staying home? A: *Yes [1] Admittedly, the presence of 吗 makes this claim weaker.
    - blagie 4y ago
      Sorry. Typo. Take 你去商店吗 (I started typing 你去不去商店 and changed part-way)

It is different. "是的" means "That's correct"; So if someone ask me "you don't smoke?" and I answer "是的" that means I don't smoke, which is actually what "no" means in standard English.

thaumasiotes 4y ago

> So if someone ask me "you don't smoke?" and I answer "是的" that means I don't smoke, which is actually what "no" means in standard English. I don't think there's much to be learned by trying to examine this situation in English. Affirmative answers to negative questions are a source of frequent confusion among native speakers, suggesting that the rules of English are not clear on this point. If you said to me 你不是犹太人吧？, and I responded 是的, what would you think?

derekzhouzhen 4y ago
There are clear rules in English and Chinese. English is absolute so "yes" means I am. Chinese is an echo language so "是的" means you are correct that I am not. However, I do see Chinese making mistakes in English and English speakers making mistakes in Chinese and I am not 100% free of the guilt. In the question "你不是犹太人吧？" there is already a "是“ in it, so a native speaker would use "对“ or "没错“ instead of "是的". They all means "correct" but by avoiding using "是" again, the chance of misunderstanding is minimized.
- thaumasiotes 4y ago
  I guess I have to draw your attention to these two sentences: > There are clear rules in English and Chinese. > They all mean "correct" but by avoiding using "是" again, the chance of misunderstanding is minimized. If the rules were clear, there would be no misunderstanding.
  - derekzhouzhen 4y ago
    I mean there are clear rules in both English and Chinese `officially`. However, Chinese is such a lax language and can convey very different meanings with just tone differences, you don't want to take the chance if there is a better way.
blagie 4y ago
I think a better example wouldn't use 是. For example: 你去不去商店吗? (Are you going to the store?) The way to answer is either going (去) or not going (不去). There are a lot of phrase for "that's right" or similar, but that's not the same as "yes." Mandarin has no word directly mapping to "yes."
- thaumasiotes 4y ago
  I put the 是 in that example on purpose, because it forces the response 是的 to be ambiguous between opposite meanings. Your example is not in the form of a yes-or-no question[1], so it's not surprising or interesting that the answer can't be "yes". We see exactly the same phenomenon in English: Q: Are you going to the store or staying home? A: *Yes [1] Admittedly, the presence of 吗 makes this claim weaker.
  - blagie 4y ago
    Sorry. Typo. Take 你去商店吗 (I started typing 你去不去商店 and changed part-way)