N'est-ce pas means "isn't it" in English.
"n'est pas" means "is not" in English.
" n'est-ce pas ? " means " isn't it ?" It can also mean "right?" or "aren't you?" when used at the end of a sentence. Examples of this are: Tu es américain, n'est-ce pas? -- You're American, right?...
Ce n'est pas beau means 'this isn't beautiful' in English.
Is it not [so] or Is this not [so] may be English equivalents of 'n'est-ce pas'. The adverbs 'ne'* and 'pas' combine to mean 'not'. The verb 'est' means '[he/she/it] is'. The demonstrative 'ce' means...