HSK 5 · Adjectives

合理 hélǐ “rational” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 合理 means

  1. rational
  2. reasonable
  3. sensible
  4. fair

How to say 合理

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale合hé2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale理lǐ3rd tone, dipping

合理 in a sentence

  1. 他的要求很合理。

    Tā de yāoqiú hěn hélǐ.

    His request is very reasonable.

    Sentence #349983 from Tatoeba

  2. 这个价格不合理。

    Zhè ge jiàgé bù hélǐ.

    This price isn’t reasonable.

    Sentence #334855 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我觉得挺合理的。

    Wǒ juéde tǐng hélǐ de.

    I think that’s quite reasonable.

    Sentence #13519271 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 合理 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 合 (hé) with each of its parts in a different colour
合héto close
  • 亼to assemble · jí
  • 口mouth · kǒu
The character 理 (lǐ) with each of its parts in a different colour
理lǐtexture
  • 王king · wángMeaning part
  • 里village · lǐSound part

王 hints at the meaning (king); 里 (lǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with lǐ.

Memory aid王 here is jade 玉: cutting jade along its grain. 里 (lǐ) gives the sound: to put in order, reason.

How to write 合理

合 6 strokes · 理 11 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

合理 (hélǐ) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 合理 (hélǐ). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 合理

Words with 合

符合fúhé · in keeping with适合shìhé · to fit合格hégé · to meet the standard required合适héshì · suitable合影héyǐng · to take a joint photo集合jíhé · to gather结合jiéhé · to combine联合liánhé · to combine配合pèihé · to cooperate组合zǔhé · to assemble

Words with 理

经理jīnglǐ · manager理解lǐjiě · to comprehend理想lǐxiǎng · an ideal理发lǐfà · to get a haircut修理xiūlǐ · to repair整理zhěnglǐ · to arrange管理guǎnlǐ · to supervise办理bànlǐ · to handle处理chǔlǐ · to handle心理xīnlǐ · psychology

More words: Adjectives

广泛guǎngfàn · extensive过分guòfèn · excessive豪华háohuá · luxurious合法héfǎ · lawful糊涂hútu · muddled慌张huāngzhāng · flustered灰huī · grey活跃huóyuè · active

FAQs

合理 (hélǐ) means “rational” or “reasonable”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it hélǐ: hé with a 2nd tone, then lǐ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 合理 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type heli with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 合理 from the suggestions. Typing heli into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
合理 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.