Breakdown of zhè shì yínhángkǎ, tā de kǎhào zài zhèlǐ.
是shì
to be
这zhè
this
的de
possessive particle
在zài
to be at
Questions & Answers about zhè shì yínhángkǎ, tā de kǎhào zài zhèlǐ.
Why is it 这 and not 这个 at the beginning?
这 can stand on its own as this, so 这是... is a very common pattern meaning This is....
这个 is also possible in some contexts, but it usually feels more like this one. So:
- 这是银行卡。 = This is a bank card.
- 这个是银行卡。 = This one is a bank card.
The version with 这 is the most neutral and standard here.
Why is there no word for a or the before 银行卡?
Mandarin does not have articles like a, an, or the.
So 银行卡 by itself can mean something like:
- a bank card
- the bank card
- bank card as a category
The exact interpretation comes from context. In 这是银行卡, the sentence is identifying what the thing is, so English naturally uses a: This is a bank card.
Why doesn’t the sentence say 这是一张银行卡?