<p>There shouldn't be much chance of confusion here, because when you respond, you would be using words to indicate correctness, like 對（対）or 錯 instead of 是. So, if they respond to your question with 不是 and then you say 是 there should be no doubt that you are contradicting them, rather than affirming the correctness of their answer. Chinese is more convenient than English in this regard.</p>

<p>So, a few ways to answer:</p>

<ol>
<li>不對，是蘋果</li>
<li>你答錯了，是蘋果</li>
<li>它就是蘋果</li>
<li>是啊</li>
</ol>

<p>... or variations on the above.</p>

<p>And, of course, as the commenters mention, for the sake of pedagogy you could find out why they got the answer wrong.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-21T13:01:22.130Z
Thanks @mendosi. I am still disreputable here so cannot do the upvote, but hope somebody does that for me.
celaeno
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-21T09:38:38.833Z
2019-06-21T09:38:38.833Z
mendosi
<p>I am having trouble translating the following situation to Mandarin:</p>

<p>Shown an image</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/v8Xtf.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/v8Xtf.png" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<br>
a person is asked: "Is this an apple or not?"/"是不是苹果?"</p>

<p>and for whichever reason they reply: "It is not."/"不是｡ "</p>

<p>How do you correct them: "It <em>is</em> an apple." ?</p>

<p>Thank you for any help/suggestions.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-19T10:57:57.727Z
I am more curious about how can anyone say it is not an apple. 

The first thing I would say to them is "Why do you think it is not an apple? Do you know what apple is?" For me , the most important thing is to find out what was the reason for them to not recognize apple
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-19T11:11:28.550Z
you could say in this case: 它是苹果。or 它就是苹果。
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-19T11:44:38.800Z
Can I omit 它? 是苹果。or 就是苹果。 ?
celaeno
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-19T11:45:59.377Z
@celaeno yes, you can.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-19T21:11:15.637Z
@celaeno Keep in mind that the way you speak is very important in this case. It could sound odd. To be safe, you can say more like 这怎么不是苹果呢？这就是苹果！
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-20T08:18:08.690Z
If it's like an answer to a test question, you can say 不對，是蘋果
Curiosity
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-20T09:00:59.617Z
Thank you all. Yes @Curiosity, thanks, the context I had in mind is more like a test question.
celaeno
<yes-no-questions>
Correcting a false negative answer to a 是不是 question
# Correcting a false negative answer to a 是不是 question

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-06-19)

I am having trouble translating the following situation to Mandarin:

Shown an image

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/v8Xtf.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/v8Xtf.png)
  
a person is asked: "Is this an apple or not?"/"是不是苹果?"

and for whichever reason they reply: "It is not."/"不是｡ "

How do you correct them: "It *is* an apple." ?

Thank you for any help/suggestions.

**Tags:** yes-no-questions

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I am more curious about how can anyone say it is not an apple.   The first thing I would say to them is "Why do you think it is not an apple? Do you know what apple is?" For me , the most important thing is to find out what was the reason for them to not recognize apple  
> **username_2**: you could say in this case: 它是苹果。or 它就是苹果。  
> **username_0**: Can I omit 它? 是苹果。or 就是苹果。 ?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 yes, you can.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 Keep in mind that the way you speak is very important in this case. It could sound odd. To be safe, you can say more like 这怎么不是苹果呢？这就是苹果！  
> **username_3**: If it's like an answer to a test question, you can say 不對，是蘋果  
> **username_0**: Thank you all. Yes @username_3, thanks, the context I had in mind is more like a test question.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-06-21. Score: 1

There shouldn't be much chance of confusion here, because when you respond, you would be using words to indicate correctness, like 對（対）or 錯 instead of 是. So, if they respond to your question with 不是 and then you say 是 there should be no doubt that you are contradicting them, rather than affirming the correctness of their answer. Chinese is more convenient than English in this regard.

So, a few ways to answer:

1. 不對，是蘋果
2. 你答錯了，是蘋果
3. 它就是蘋果
4. 是啊

... or variations on the above.

And, of course, as the commenters mention, for the sake of pedagogy you could find out why they got the answer wrong.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks @username_4. I am still disreputable here so cannot do the upvote, but hope somebody does that for me.  

---

