How to Say “That makes sense” in Chinese
Small talk and travel · HSK 3
"That makes sense" in Chinese is 有道理 (Yǒu dào lǐ). 有道理 literally means 'has logic/reason' and is how Chinese speakers acknowledge that someone's point is valid. Unlike English 'that makes sense' which can just mean 'I understand,' 有道理 specifically means 'your reasoning is sound.
Primary translation
有道理
Yǒu dào lǐ
Variants by register
Formal
您说得有道理
Nín shuō de yǒu dào lǐ
Casual
有道理
Yǒu dào lǐ
When to use it
有道理 literally means 'has logic/reason' and is how Chinese speakers acknowledge that someone's point is valid. Unlike English 'that makes sense' which can just mean 'I understand,' 有道理 specifically means 'your reasoning is sound.' If you just want to say you understood, use 我明白了 instead. Adding 还 (还有道理 / 还挺有道理) softens it to 'that actually makes sense,' often implying mild surprise. Avoid overusing; saying it too often can sound like empty agreement.
Example sentences
你说的有道理，我没想到这一点。
Nǐ shuō de yǒu dào lǐ, wǒ méi xiǎng dào zhè yī diǎn.
What you said makes sense, I hadn't thought of that.
嗯，有道理，那就按你说的办。
Èn, yǒu dào lǐ, nà jiù àn nǐ shuō de bàn.
Mm, makes sense, let's do it your way then.
这个解释还挺有道理的。
Zhè ge jiě shì hái tǐng yǒu dào lǐ de.
This explanation actually makes a lot of sense.