day 179reason, logic and order
unit 24 · reason and argumentreason, logic and order
Argue with logic in Chinese: use idioms for what follows, what differs and what matters most, say “more or less” with 或多或少 (或A或B), and close with 综上所述.
today’s words
- 综上所述 zōngshàngsuǒshù · to sum up (all of the above)
- 理所当然 lǐsuǒdāngrán · only natural, a matter of course
- 理直气壮 lǐzhíqìzhuàng · bold and confident (because right)
- 天经地义 tiānjīngdìyì · perfectly natural and right
- 顺理成章 shùnlǐchéngzhāng · logical, follows naturally
- 顺其自然 shùnqízìrán · to let nature take its course
- 自然而然 zìrán'érrán · naturally, of its own accord
- 岂有此理 qǐyǒucǐlǐ · outrageous! how absurd!
- 似是而非 sìshì'érfēi · plausible but wrong
- 自相矛盾 zìxiāngmáodùn · to contradict oneself
- 相提并论 xiāngtíbìnglùn · to put on a par
- 相辅相成 xiāngfǔxiāngchéng · to complement each other
- 息息相关 xīxīxiāngguān · closely bound up
- 一概而论 yīgài'érlùn · to lump together, generalise
- 因人而异 yīnrén'éryì · to vary from person to person
- 因地制宜 yīndìzhìyí · to suit local conditions
- 截然不同 jiéránbùtóng · completely different
- 大同小异 dàtóngxiǎoyì · much the same
- 与众不同 yǔzhòngbùtóng · out of the ordinary, unique
- 独一无二 dúyīwú'èr · unique, one of a kind
- 诸如此类 zhūrúcǐlèi · and so on, things like that
- 举足轻重 jǔzúqīngzhòng · to play a decisive role
- 重中之重 zhòngzhōngzhīzhòng · the most important thing of all
- 当务之急 dāngwùzhījí · the most urgent task
- 刻不容缓 kèbùrónghuǎn · extremely urgent
- 恰到好处 qiàdàohǎochù · just right
- 恰如其分 qiàrúqífèn · just right, apt (of words, praise)
- 面面俱到 miànmiànjùdào · thorough, covering every aspect
- 有条不紊 yǒutiáobùwěn · methodical, in perfect order
- 自始至终 zìshǐzhìzhōng · from start to finish
- 一干二净 yīgān'èrjìng · completely, thoroughly
- 一塌糊涂 yītāhútú · in a terrible mess
- 优胜劣汰 yōushèngliètài · survival of the fittest
- 新陈代谢 xīnchéndàixiè · metabolism; the new replacing the old
- 在所难免 zàisuǒnánmiǎn · unavoidable
sentences
- 每个人或多或少都有偏见。 · Everyone is biased to some degree.
- 综上所述，我们认为好处大于坏处。 · To sum up, we believe the benefits outweigh the harm.
- 理论和实践是相辅相成的。 · Theory and practice complement each other.
- 这两种说法截然不同。 · These two claims are completely different.
- 当务之急是把稿子写完。 · The first priority is to finish the speech.