Chinese symbol for “whether”
是否
shì fǒu
whether (or not); if; is or isn't
The closest CC-CEDICT match for whether is 是否 (shì fǒu), defined as: whether (or not); if; is or isn't.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Related words
Other words that share a character with 是否.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not |
| 就是 | jiù shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just |
| 但是 | dàn shì | but; however |
| 还是 (還是) | hái shi | still (as before); had better |
| 只是 | zhǐ shì | merely; only; just; nothing but; simply |
| 否则 (否則) | fǒu zé | otherwise; if not; or (else) |
| 否认 (否認) | fǒu rèn | to declare to be untrue; to deny |
| 能否 | néng fǒu | whether one can; whether it is possible |
See also: Japanese symbol for “whether”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.