是指 / 指的是【shì zhǐ / zhǐ de shì】

是指 says what a term means. The term is the subject, and the definition follows as a noun phrase or a clause. It belongs to textbooks, reports and papers.

指的是 means the same and fits speech as well as writing. It's the usual choice for explaining what a particular person meant.

In laws and dictionaries 是 drops and 指 stands alone.

The negative is 指的不是, often answered by 而是.

是指 or 是

是 says what something is. 是指 says what a word or phrase stands for, so its subject is a term, an abbreviation or a quoted expression, never a person or thing in the world.

• × 我哥哥是指一位医生 → 我哥哥是一位医生
• × “三农”是农业、农村和农民 → “三农”是指农业、农村和农民