理是这么个理
“That makes sense.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
一年多少钱 你算算
“then a year. Do the math.”
理是这么个理
“That makes sense.”
但你说这些老客吧
“But these regular guests—”
“You are right in theory, but reality is not that simple.”
In Chinese communicative culture, directly rejecting someone's practical logic causes loss of face; speakers typically affirm the principle (理) first before highlighting practical social constraints (人情 or 现实).
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
that's true in theory; logically speaking you're right
A classic conversational pivot used right before stating 'but...' (但/可是) to soften a disagreement without invalidating the other person's logic.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“That makes sense.”
“That makes sense in theory,”
“Actually, it's like this.”
“That's right.”
“China is like this.”
“That's how it is.”
“it... it's like this.”