正是
zhèng shì · HSK 2
precisely
✅ 正 = right/correct + 是 = is → 'is exactly right'
Compound of 正 (correct, upright) + 是 (is/yes). Together they stress that something is precisely the case — like saying 'that's exactly it' in English. Often used to confirm or emphasize identity.
正 — one 一 + stop 止
Originally an ideograph showing a foot (止) advancing toward a target line (一), meaning 'to march straight toward' a city or goal. From this came the senses 'upright,' 'correct,' and 'proper.' The military sense survives in 征 (to campaign), which took over the original 'march' meaning.
是 — sun 日 + 正 (correct/upright)
Originally a compound suggesting 'the sun 日 directly overhead'—straight, correct, true. From this concrete sense of 'right' or 'this very thing,' 是 came to mean 'this' as a demonstrative, and later the modern copula 'to be / is.' The 'correct' meaning survives in words like 是非 (right and wrong).