# Why is yes missing in Mandarin?



## Encolpius

Hello, why is there no *specific word *for yes in Mandarin Chinese? I am not sure about other dialects. It is such an ancient language spoken by many people. Is that a rarity or common in other less known languages? Any idea? Thanks.


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## Cenzontle

I'm not advanced in Mandarin, but I've heard "Duì" or "Duì-duì-duì-duì!" as an affirmative answer to a question.
The dictionary definitions of this character include (among many, many others) "agree" and "right, correct".
Did Classical Latin have a word for "yes"?  It seems that the Romance languages had to invent their own.
French "oui" is from a series of two demonstrative pronouns in Latin:  _hoc _+ _ille _("this" + "that"?).
Spanish "sí" is from Lat. _sic_ 'thus'.
Portuguese often expresses "yes" either with _isso _'that', or by repeating the verb ("Posso fazer?"  "Pode." — "May I?"  "You may").


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## Encolpius

Cenzontle said:


> Did Classical Latin have a word for "yes"?



I do not know. Was that a rhetorical question?
But I wonder how about other ancient (extinct) languages.


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## bibax

Latin: ita, ita est, sic est, sic se res habet, certe, ...
also ne, nae (from Greek ναι);


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## Stoggler

Celtic languages don't have a single word equivalent of "yes" and "no".


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## Dymn

I recently read that 是 (_shì_), literally "to be", can be used as "yes". But if I understand you well you are talking about independent and specific terms.



Encolpius said:


> It is such an ancient language spoken by many people. Is that a rarity or common in other less known languages?


I don't think it has anything to do with the size of the language.


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## Encolpius

Diamant7 said:


> But if I understand you well you are talking about independent and specific terms.



Exactly.


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## bearded

bibax said:


> Latin: ita, ita est, sic est, sic se res habet, certe, ...
> also ne, nae (from Greek ναι);


Another common way to affirmatively answer a question, in classical Latin, was to repeat the verb contained in the question:
_Aquam bibis? Bibo._
There is an analogy with modern English: Do you drink water? I do (=I drink).


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## origumi

Biblical Hebrew too doesn't have a specific word for _yes_ (see for example here).


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## Encolpius

And what is the etymology of yes in modern Hebrew?


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## origumi

Encolpius said:


> And what is the etymology of yes in modern Hebrew?


Hebrew _ken_ = _yes_ is maybe from Semitic root _kwn_ = _to be_, _to exists_, or from Semitic demonstrative _*ka _= _so_, _thus_.
There's also _hen_  = _yes_, probably from Aramaic for _indeed_.


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## berndf

bibax said:


> Latin: ita, ita est, sic est, sic se res habet, certe, ...
> also ne, nae (from Greek ναι);


The point is that it didn't. It had a collection situation-dependent phrases that served a similar purpose but no single word that simply means _yes_. The different Romance languages developed different words for _yes_ and that also determined the first categorisation (_lingua d'oïl_, _lingua d'oc_ and _lingua del sì_).


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## francisgranada

The Polish "tak" is also interesting, as it's usage is not  situation-dependent (as far as I know), but it still means "thus, so" (as in Slavic languages in general). So from this point of view, the Polish _has_ a single word, but not a word with the _exclusive_ meaning of "yes".


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## frugnaglio

francisgranada said:


> The Polish "tak" is also interesting, as it's usage is not  situation-dependent (as far as I know), but it still means "thus, so" (as in Slavic languages in general). So from this point of view, the Polish _has_ a single word, but not a word with the _exclusive_ meaning of "yes".


One could argue that the same is true in Italian, or at least it was until _sì_ was still commonly used to mean “thus, so”.


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## francisgranada

frugnaglio said:


> One could argue that the same is true in Italian, or at least it was until _sì_ was still commonly used to mean “thus, so”.


Of course. The difference is that in Italian now we have also _così _(in Spanish _así_, etc ...) while in Polish _tak _is used both in the sense of _sì _and _così_.


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## Encolpius

Then, we can say the Hungarian _igen _[yes] has also other meanings, i.e.: _igen érdekes_ [very interesting], and maybe it would be rather hard to find the isolated yes meaning in all languages [the German ja has also more meanings] [except English!] which makes the situation even more fascinating, then why the Chinese haven't found a particle to express the meaning of yes?


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## francisgranada

Encolpius said:


> Then, we can say the Hungarian _igen _[yes] has also other meanings, i.e.: _igen érdekes_ [very interesting] ...


 You are right. However, the meaning "very" may be secondary.


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## Encolpius

How can you prove it is a secondary meaning?


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## Testing1234567

Strangely enough, nobody ever brought up English "yes", which comes from Old English "gese" (so be it).

And "yea", positive to positive questions (while "yes" is positive to negative questions), also derives from Old English word that means "so" [Latin sic].


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## Encolpius

Hello Testing, you are Chinese, do you know something about the Chinese missing yes?


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## Testing1234567

I thought there was always a "yes" (然, rán) in Classical Chinese.


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## Encolpius

Can you tell us more about the 然?


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## Testing1234567

yes - Chinese translation – Linguee

Many examples with English "yes" translated to Chinese. Those with "是" seems less natural to me and those that do not translate the word "yes" seems more natural to me. You know, Chinese grammar got corrupted by English grammar by a certain level.

The answer to your original question should be "because we don't need it", just as others here have pointed out, so maybe you could specify what you want to know about this topic.

I would say that the word "yes" is quite unnecessary. After one asks "can you ...?", why don't we just reply "I can" or "I cannot"? What is the use of a "yes" or "no" in front?

Also, according to etymonline, "yes" is only popularized by Shakespeare, which shows that we don't even need it.

I shall do more research on "然" before I say anything about it, but I think this is off-topic as Classical Chinese is not Mandarin.


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## Testing1234567

然 - Chinese Text Project

Many usages of 然 in Classical Chinese.


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## Testing1234567

Cropped and edited from the aforementioned website.

《論語·雍也》: 子曰：「雍之言然。」 
Show complete text
The Master said, "Yong's words are right."

《孟子·梁惠王上》: 王曰：「然。」 
Show complete text
The king said, 'You are right.'

《莊子·養生主》: 曰：「然。」 
Show complete text
'I was,' he replied.

《史記·五帝本紀》: 舜曰：「然。」 
Show complete text
But Shun said, 'Let it be so,'

《禮記·仲尼燕居》: 子曰：「然。」 
Show complete text
The Master said, 'They do.'

《韓非子·內儲說下》: 婦人曰：「然。」 
Show complete text


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## twinklestar

Encolpius said:


> Hello, why is there no *specific word *for yes in Mandarin Chinese? I am not sure about other dialects. It is such an ancient language spoken by many people. Is that a rarity or common in other less known languages? Any idea? Thanks.



May I ask how you draw a conclusion that "yes" is missing from Mandarin? Could you provide your context? There are several meanings for yes in different contexts.

Modern Chinese: 是(的），对（的）, 没错, 可以, 嗯, 唔, 好(的),* and so on. *(Though some characters literally are equivalent with the other English words)
archaic Chinese 然，然也，诺

yes adverb translate to Mandarin Chinese: Cambridge Dictionary

English Chinese Cambridge Dictionary has some bilingual sentences with *the flexible and natural* translations in different usage. *It always depends on the contexts*.



> used when you are disagreeing with a negative statement（用于反驳否定陈述）"I'm not a very good cook though." "Yes you are - you make wonderfulfood!" “不过我不是一个很好的厨师。”“不，你是，你做的食物非常棒！”



Please note in the above sentence, Yes is virtually translated as 不, which literally means "no" in English.


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## Encolpius

Check this webiste or any other textbook.

I am not asking how to translate yes into Chinese. This is a kind of linguistic forum. Historical, etymological, regional, cultural answers are welcomed.

1) In Chinese there is no single word that exactly matches the meaning of “yes” or “no”
2) In Chinese, words that we can translate to yes / no depend on the context / grammar of the question.
3) The major issue with common translations is they don’t fully match the meaning of yes / no in all contexts. (the translations are too generous)


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## twinklestar

> Frequently translated to 是 (Shì) in English- Chinese dictionaries. The problem is that although _in some contexts _是 (Shì) can indeed be used as an affirmative answer, in many it cannot, further* the real meaning of* 是 (Shì) is “to be” / “it is” (at a fundamental level 是 (Shì) is actually a basic verb which means “is” / “am” / “are”)
> 
> I.E 是 (Shì) does not absolutely mean “yes”, similar with 是的 (Shì de)



This is a false conclusion.

In archaic Chinese, 是 is hardly used as link verb - to be. Please read the article in Chinese, which quoted the different uage of 是, except for the meaning -be.
“是”在古汉语中的用法及意义


> Encolpius said: ↑
> 1) In Chinese there is no single word that exactly matches the meaning of “yes” or “no”



The author has just learnt Chinese for around 6 years. I have counterproofed his false explanation about 是.



> 2) In Chinese, words that we can translate to yes / no depend on the context / grammar of the question.



Because there are some words which have subtle meanings about yes. I believe there are also some synonyms in English and other language.

Sometimes, you can answer fine, ok, yes, good...



> 3) The major issue with common translations is they don’t fully match the meaning of yes / no in all contexts. (the translations are too generous)



I don't want to mention about translation at your request, but you mentioned it in 2) and 3.

There are no so-called false meaning and  real meaning about 是, but original meaning and non-original meaning.

PS. A report titled Foreign Sinologists who visited China daren't speak in Chinese.

国外汉学家来华不敢说中文 - 世界新闻报 - 国际在线


> 国外汉学家来华不敢说中文
> 一进会场，记者就被一群白发苍苍的老学者济济一堂的场面震撼了。据了解，这次主题为“文明对话与和谐世界”的活动一共有70多位国外著名汉学家和100多位国内知名学者参加。本以为会出现众多高鼻子深眼睛聚在一起说中文的有趣场面，但记者发现，无论是发表演讲还是私下交流，学者们都在用英语或是母语。对此，德国著名汉学家施寒微对《世界新闻报》记者说，虽然多年从事汉学研究，但毕竟没有达到百分百的得心应手，在学术交流这种事情上，还是严谨一点好。



There were more than 70 gray-haired foreign Sinologists though they understood Mandarin, but they were diffident to speak in Chinese for the acdamic meeting. A famous German sinologist and professor named Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer who has a Ph.d degree admitted he prefered in English, as he didn't grasp completely Chinese. He has studied Chinese since 1960s (Needless to mention about archaic Chinese, modern Chinese is the easiest)



> Now I have been self-studying Chinese for over five years. In 2009 my circumstances permitted me to study almost full time for about 8 months; by myself, with friends, with my small whiteboard.



Yet you believe everything the author wrote? or do you actually read some Chinese? What the author posted are very basic knowledge of Chinese language, i.e. nursery rhyme which is learnt by a 3-year-old, a poem which is taught in Chinese elementary schools and some very basic grammmar. Don't treat his words like the Bible.


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## twinklestar

The above post is kinda long, so I would like to furthur comment on this post.



> 陶渊时《归去来辞》：“今是而昨非。”


In Tao Yuanming's poem, 是 refers to correct. He was born *AC* 352.



> 《墨子.尚同上》国君之所是，必皆是之。”



Shi also refers to correct in Mo-tse's classic work. He was born around* BC*770 -*BC* 476


In archaic Chinese, 妻子 means wife and son, but today it mostly refers to wife. Nobody can say 妻子 is the false meaning for wife. I am sure there are also some similiar examples in Old English,etc.

I guess what the author means is original meaning for real meaning. It is inappropriate to claim non-original meaning is false meaning.  Or many words in English and other languages would all false, and their meanings didn't exist either. It is ridiculous.


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## twinklestar

The etymology of 是 can be traced to jinwen. It originally meant correct, straight according to an online website. It was not the English equivalent of the link verb-be which could mean 乃 etc. in archaic Chinese.

The explanation looks very reliable as the Chinese language is hieroglyphic which means ancient Chinese people created the character by drawing.

Please see the attachment. (You can look up the etymology for 不 there. The picture illustrates how it meant negation)

(Please don't be taken for a riding by some unreliable sources. That's why some China-based websites teach German or English sayings and expressions, but I would post on the WR for confirmation again if I am not sure. My German textbook, which was compiled by a Chinese professor of German who has lived in Germany for decades, is full of simple mistakes too. 

Etymology

Also this website for the etymology of Chinese characters compiled by a foreigner.

字源网_字源查询_汉字字源网


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## dojibear

I think English is unusual in having single words "Yes" and "No" that are used in so many situations. In studying Korean, Japanese and Chinese I've seen a variety of ways to agree/disagree with a statement or question:

- saying "that" to mean "what you just said is correct". 
- saying "is" or "isn't" 
- repling <verb> or <verb-negative> in response to "Do/did you <verb>" questions.
- saying "is true" or "isn't true" (without an "it" word)
- saying a confirming sentence ("Are you happy?" "I am happy").

In Korean and Japanese, verb endings (conjugations) include negation, making a separate word redundant. The same is true in a simpler form in Chinese (bu+verb) and English (not+verb), so even in English many responses have no use for "yes" and "no".



Encolpius said:


> Hello, why is there no *specific word *for yes in Mandarin Chinese?



Like all "why" questions, this may be an invalid question. If something happens, there is often a *reason why *(a *cause*). But there is rarely a *cause* for something *not *happening.


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## berndf

Testing1234567 said:


> Also, according to etymonline, "yes" is only popularized by Shakespeare, which shows that we don't even need it.


You completely misunderstood that. Early modern English had two different word: _yea _an _yes_. At the time _yea _was the normal word an _yes _was emphatic. Etymonline explained when Shakespeare used _yes_ and when he used _yea_. You could roughly say at the time yes was like modern French _oui_ or German _ja _and _yes_ was like modern French _si_ or German _doch_.


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## Encolpius

berndf said:


> ...Early modern English had two different word: _yea _an _yes_. At the time _yea _was the normal word an _yes _was emphatic....



Interesting comment.


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