是关于...的
Reach for this when you want to say 'it's about X' — a story, a book, a piece of news, a meeting. The pattern wraps 关于 (about) inside the 是…的 frame, producing a complete predicate that explains what the subject is on the subject of. Very common when someone asks 'what is it?' and you want to answer with a topic rather than a category. Used in everyday conversation, news intros, and book/movie blurbs.
Structure
(SUBJECT) 是关于 [TOPIC] 的
shì guānyú... de
How to Think About It
The 是…的 pair is doing real work here — it nominalizes the topic into a complete predicate. Without 的, you'd have a dangling 'is about X' that feels unfinished in Chinese. Think of 是 and 的 as bookends locking 关于X into place as the answer to 'what is this thing?' Drop 的 and the sentence collapses; drop 是 and you've got a noun phrase modifier ('something about X') instead of a full statement.
Examples
这部电影是关于一个家庭的。
Zhè bù diànyǐng shì guānyú yí ge jiātíng de.
This movie is about a family.
这条新闻是关于一家手机公司的。
Zhè tiáo xīnwén shì guānyú yì jiā shǒujī gōngsī de.
This piece of news is about a phone company.
他写的书都是关于历史的。
Tā xiě de shū dōu shì guānyú lìshǐ de.
All the books he writes are about history.
Common Mistake
Learners forget the closing 的, treating 关于 like a stand-alone preposition. In this predicate form, 的 is required — without it, the sentence feels cut off. Compare a learner's '这本书是关于中国' (ungrammatical-sounding) to natural '这本书是关于中国的'.
这本书是关于中国。
这本书是关于中国的。
Don't Confuse With
关于 + Topic + 的 + Noun
Modifier form: '关于中国的书' = 'a book about China.' Use this when 关于X的 attaches to a noun. Use 是关于X的 when you're making a full statement ('it IS about X').
讲的是...
'It tells of / it's about…' — common for books, movies, stories. 这本书讲的是一个爱情故事 = 'this book is about a love story.' Slightly more narrative-focused than 是关于…的, which is more neutral and topical.
...是什么的？
The question form — 'what kind of X is it?' Use 这本书是关于什么的？ to ask the topic, then answer with 是关于…的. The 是…的 frame stays the same; only the topic slot changes.
Practice
这本书是 ___ 中国历史的。
Show answer
关于
这部电影是关于一个老人 ___ 。
Show answer
的
Put in order: [是 / 关于 / 这条 / 的 / 一家公司 / 新闻]
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这条新闻是关于一家公司的。
Translate to Chinese: 'This article is about climate change.'
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这篇文章是关于气候变化的。
Use 是关于…的 to describe the topic of a book, movie, or article you know.
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Example answer: 我最喜欢的电影是关于一个小男孩和他父亲的。 (My favorite movie is about a little boy and his father.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear 是关于...的 in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start, no card.