How to Ask Tag Questions with 不 (bù): 对不对？
Tag a V-不-V confirmation onto a statement — 对不对？(right?), 是不是？(isn't it?), 好不好？(OK?) — to check a fact or soften a suggestion. It's the lively twin of the 吗 tag.
Why this trips learners up
You've seen how 吗 can tag a question onto a statement (对吗？). Chinese has a second, livelier way to do it: the V-不-V tag. Take a little confirmation word — 对 (right), 是 (so), or 好 (good) — say it, then its negative, then it again: 对不对？是不是？好不好？. Stick that on the end of a statement and you're asking “…, right?” or “…, OK?”.
The two halves do slightly different jobs. 对不对？/ 是不是？ check a fact you believe is true — 你是老师对不对？(“You're a teacher, right?”). 好不好？ floats a suggestion and asks for agreement — 我们走好不好？(“Let's go, OK?”). It works just like the 吗 tags (对吗？好吗？); the V-不-V version simply tends to sound a little more eager or insistent.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
Examples in context
Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.
Tap a word to see its grammatical role.
nǐ 你 Subject shì 是 Verb lǎoshī 老师 Object duì 对 Pattern bu 不 Negation duì 对 Pattern
You're a teacher, right?
nǐ 你 Subject méi 没 Negation chīfàn 吃饭 Verb duì 对 Pattern bu 不 Negation duì 对 Pattern
You haven't eaten, right?
nǐ 你 Subject jīnnián 今年 Time sānshí suì 三十岁 Object shì 是 Pattern bu 不 Negation shì 是 Pattern
You're thirty this year, right?
nǐmen 你们 Subject fēnshǒu 分手 Verb le 了 Function word shì 是 Pattern bu 不 Negation shì 是 Pattern
You broke up, didn't you?
wǒmen 我们 Subject míngtiān 明天 Time qù 去 Verb hǎo 好 Pattern bu 不 Negation hǎo 好 Pattern
Let's go tomorrow, OK?
nǐ 你 Subject bāng 帮 Verb wǒ 我 Object yíxià 一下 Measure word hǎo 好 Pattern bu 不 Negation hǎo 好 Pattern
Help me out, OK?
Common mistakes
Why it happens: Pick one tag, not both. 对不对 and 对吗 are two ways to do the same thing, so 你是老师对不对吗？stacks them. It's 你是老师对不对？or 你是老师，对吗？ — never both.
Why it happens: The V-不-V tag repeats the SAME word around 不: 对不对, 是不是, 好不好. Mixing them (是不对？) breaks the pattern — the word before 不 and the word after it must match.
Why it happens: 对不对？checks a fact (“…, right?”). To propose something and ask if it's OK, use 好不好？: 我们走好不好？(“let's go, OK?”), not 我们走对不对？(which would be checking whether leaving is factually correct).
Compare & contrast
| 不 tag — V-不-V (对不对？) | 吗 tag — word + 吗 (对吗？) | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 你是学生，对不对？nǐ shì xuésheng, duì bu duì? | 你是学生，对吗？nǐ shì xuésheng, duì ma? | Same question — “you're a student, right?”. 对不对 sounds a touch more insistent; 对吗 a little softer. |
| 我们走吧，好不好？wǒmen zǒu ba, hǎo bu hǎo? | 我们走吧，好吗？wǒmen zǒu ba, hǎo ma? | Same suggestion — “let's go, OK?”. Pick whichever feels right; just don't combine them. |
Try it yourself
Ask “You can drive, right?” — tap the words into order.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
How to Ask Tag Questions with 不 (bù): 对不对？ grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.