zhè shì féiliào.

Chinese often uses the same basic word order as English here:

• 这 = this
• 是 = is / to be
• 肥料 = fertilizer

So the pattern is:

this + is + fertilizer

That makes 这 是 肥料 a very straightforward equational sentence: This is fertilizer.

是 is the verb to be when one noun is being identified as another noun.

In 这 是 肥料, it links 这 and 肥料, just like is in English:

• 这 是 老师。 = This is a teacher.
• 这 是 水。 = This is water.
• 这 是 肥料。 = This is fertilizer.

A useful note: 是 is not used in every sentence where English uses to be. For example, with adjectives Chinese often does not use 是:

• 他很高。 = He is tall.
  not 他是很高。

But in your sentence, since 肥料 is a noun, 是 is correct.

Chinese does not use articles like a, an, and the the way English does.

So 肥料 can mean:

• fertilizer
• some fertilizer
• the fertilizer

The exact meaning depends on context.

In 这 是 肥料, the natural English translation is usually This is fertilizer. Chinese simply does not need an article here.

这 by itself means this, and it can stand alone as a pronoun:

• 这是什么？ = What is this?
• 这是肥料。 = This is fertilizer.

这个 is often used when this comes before a noun:

• 这个苹果 = this apple
• 这个人 = this person

So:

• 这 是 肥料。 = This is fertilizer.
• 这个 是 肥料。 is less natural in standard modern Mandarin unless you are speaking with a special emphasis or referring to a specific one among several things.

In short: when this stands alone as the subject, 这 is normal.

Not in this sentence.

Measure words are typically needed when 这 directly modifies a noun:

• 这本书 = this book
• 这袋肥料 = this bag of fertilizer
• 这种肥料 = this kind of fertilizer

But in 这 是 肥料, 这 is not attached directly to a noun. It stands alone and means this, so no measure word is needed.

这 is pronounced zhè in standard Mandarin.

A few tips:

• zh is not the same as English j.
  It is made with the tongue curled slightly back.
• The vowel sounds somewhat like uh or er-like in some accents, but the standard pinyin spelling is e.
• It has 4th tone, so it falls sharply: zhè

If you say the whole sentence naturally:

zhè shì féiliào

Both 这 and 是 have falling tones.

肥料 is pronounced féiliào.

Tone breakdown:

• 肥 = féi (2nd tone, rising)
• 料 = liào (4th tone, falling)

So it sounds like:

• féi = rising
• liào = sharp fall

Put together: féi-liào

A rough English approximation is something like fay-lyaow, but try to follow the Mandarin tones rather than English stress.

肥料 is a general word for fertilizer.

It can refer to fertilizer in a broad sense, including chemical or organic fertilizer. It is not exactly the same as manure.

• 肥料 = fertilizer
• 粪肥 = manure / dung fertilizer

So 这 是 肥料 means This is fertilizer, not specifically This is manure, unless the context makes that clear.

In raw grammar terms, yes, but in natural English, This is fertilizer is usually the best translation.

That is because fertilizer is often treated as an uncountable material noun in English. Chinese nouns do not have the same countable/uncountable distinction built into their form, so the context decides how we translate it.

If you wanted to express This is a type of fertilizer more clearly, Chinese might say something like:

• 这是一种肥料。 = This is a kind of fertilizer.

Yes.

• 这 = this
• 那 = that

So:

• 这是肥料。 = This is fertilizer.
• 那是肥料。 = That is fertilizer.

This is a very common contrast in Chinese, just like this and that in English.

A very common way is:

• 这是肥料吗？ = Is this fertilizer?

You just add 吗 to make a yes/no question.

Another common question is:

• 这是什么？ = What is this?

So your sentence can work nicely as an answer:

• 这是什么？
• 这是肥料。

Yes. The spaces are just for learning.

In normal Chinese writing, you would write:

这是肥料。

Chinese is usually written without spaces between words. Learning materials often add spaces, pinyin, or glosses to help beginners see the parts more clearly.

Not if you mean This is fertilizer.

• 这是肥料。 = This is fertilizer.

If you say 这肥料, it sounds like this fertilizer, not a complete sentence. It is a noun phrase, not a full identification sentence.

Compare:

• 这是肥料。 = This is fertilizer.
• 这肥料很好。 = This fertilizer is good.

So 是 is necessary when you want to identify this as fertilizer.

Yes. 。 is the Chinese full stop, equivalent to the English period .

So:

• 这是肥料。 = complete statement
• 这是肥料吗？ = question

It is normal and correct to use Chinese punctuation when writing in Chinese.