理性 lǐxìng reason
reason; rationality; rational
How to remember 理性: 理 reason + 性 nature = reason.
Characters
How it is used
- Reason/rationality as a stance - 理性思考 (lǐxìng sīkǎo) think rationally, 保持理性 (bǎochí lǐxìng) stay level-headed.
- Works as an adjective too: 他很理性 (tā hěn lǐxìng) he's very rational, opposite 感性 (gǎnxìng, emotional/led by feeling) - 她很感性 (tā hěn gǎnxìng) she is very emotional.
- The 理性/感性 pair is the standard head-vs-heart contrast in Chinese.
Example sentences
- 我感情上支持，但是理性上反对。 Wǒ gǎnqíng shàng zhīchí, dànshì lǐxìng shàng fǎnduì.I agree on an emotional level, but on the pragmatic level I disagree.