可
不
是

That's just the way it is in Chinese: 可不是 (kě bu shì)

kě bu shì

that's just the way it is

HSK 3.0 Levels 7-91 example sentence

Definitions

  1. 1that's just the way it is
  2. 2exactly!

Stroke order

Watch how to write 可不是 stroke by stroke.

可
不
是

Zhuyin

This word’s pronunciation in Bopomofo.

Learn how to read Zhuyin

ㄎㄜˇ

kě

ㄎ/ kㄜ/ eˇ/ third tone

˙ㄅㄨ

bu

˙/ neutral toneㄅ/ bㄨ/ u

ㄕˋ

shì

ㄕ/ shˋ/ fourth tone

Example sentences

See 可不是 used in real sentences with pinyin and English translations.

  • 可不是嘛，这件事太难了。

    kě bú shì ma， zhè jiàn shì tài nán le。

    Exactly, this whole thing really is far too hard.

Spotted a mistake?

Related words

不

bù

no

是

shì

to be (followed by substantives only)

可

kě

(prefix) can

但是

dàn shì

but

可能

kě néng

might (happen)

可以

kě yǐ

can

还是

hái shi

still (as before)

可爱

kě ài

adorable

总是

zǒng shì

always

不但

bù dàn

not only (... but also ...)

不管

bù guǎn

not to be concerned

不过

bù guò

only

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Levels 7-9 vocabulary list

Learn 可不是 with spaced repetition

Add 可不是 (kě bu shì) to your review queue and the FSRS algorithm will schedule it exactly when you're about to forget — then meet it again in a short AI-generated story written at your level.

Start learning free

No credit card required · Free tier included