就是 (jiùshì) — exactly; precisely in Mandarin

jiù​shì
“exactly; precisely”

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#86 most common word

Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.

Tone breakdown

就是 is pronounced jiùshì. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.

jiù
fourth tone (sharp falling, ˋ)
shì
fourth tone (sharp falling, ˋ)

In a sentence

tā jiùshì lǎoshī.

He is the teacher.

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Frequently asked questions

What does 就是 mean?+

就是 (jiùshì) means "exactly; precisely" in Mandarin Chinese.

How do you pronounce 就是?+

就是 is pronounced jiùshì. It uses the tone 4 (falling). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.

How common is 就是 in Mandarin?+

就是 is the #86 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.

Words at a similar frequency

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Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.