常理

• Pinyin: cháng lǐ
• Hanzi breakdown: 常 = 尚 (esteem, phonetic) + 巾 (cloth, associated with everyday things); 理 = 王/玉 (jade/king) + 里 (inside, phonetic)

Meaning

Common sense; normal reasoning; general logic. The principles or reasoning that most people would consider obvious or natural under ordinary circumstances.

Used in discourse to appeal to what any reasonable person would expect or understand. Common collocations: 按常理来说 (by normal logic), 违背常理 (defy common sense), 不符合常理 (contrary to normal reasoning). Frequently appears in legal reasoning, argumentation, and critical analysis to evaluate whether something is believable or logical. Slightly more formal and argumentative in tone than 常识.

Examples

1. 按常理来说，一个正常经营的企业不可能在短短三个月内实现如此离谱的利润增长。 By normal logic, a legitimately operating business could not possibly achieve such an absurdly high profit growth in just three months.
2. 这份合同中的几处条款明显违背常理，律师建议当事人在签署前务必寻求专业意见。 Several clauses in this contract clearly defy common sense, and the lawyer advised the client to seek professional advice before signing.
3. 侦探指出，嫌疑人的证词在细节上虽无漏洞，但整体上不符合常理，疑点难以排除。 The detective pointed out that while the suspect's testimony had no gaps in its details, it was overall inconsistent with normal reasoning and the doubts could not be eliminated.

Usage Guide

Context: law, argumentation, analysis, daily reasoning, journalism

Tone: rational

Do Say

• 按常理，父母对子女的牵挂会随着距离的增加而愈发强烈，而非减弱。(By normal reasoning, a parent's concern for a child tends to grow stronger with distance, not weaker.)
• 这种解释完全违背常理，很难让人信服，法官当庭表示质疑。(This explanation defies common sense entirely and is difficult to accept — the judge expressed scepticism on the spot.)

Don't Say

• 常理上这道菜很好吃。(常理 refers to logical reasoning or general principles, not personal taste — use 通常来说 or 一般来说 instead: 一般来说这道菜很受欢迎)

Origin & History

常 (ordinary, normal) + 理 (reason, logic, principle). The normal, expected logic of how things work.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal