Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[organica]

A Korean friend of mine uses the words, "reasonable" and "rational" quite often to describe people, as in "You are quite a reasonable person." What does it mean by reasonable or rational person?
Thank you for your help.

Organica

[Eric Thompson]

Dear organica, The two words are very similar: they come from the same Latin root ratio. The best way to understand their difference is to look at their negatives. Irrational implies that someone is a bit crazy. Psychologists use that word when diagnosing people. Unreasonable implies that someone is asking for too much from someone. Businessmen use that word when making deals. So, we speak of irrational behavior and unreasonable demands. Just negate the negatives and use them, positively.

[organica]

Thank you for the response.
His comments about my "reasonable" haven't struck me as a compliment to me.

Organica

[pugachevV]

If he says stuff like,"You're a reasonable person, why would you think X, Y or Z?
He is actually implying that no reasonable person would think X, Y or Z. So it depends on how the word is used.