diff --git a/docs/userguide b/docs/userguide
index f2645998..f2f51173 100644
--- a/docs/userguide
+++ b/docs/userguide
@@ -570,11 +570,12 @@ set $m Mod1
 bindsym $m+Shift+r restart
 ------------------------
 
-Variables are directly replaced in the file when parsing. There is no fancy
-handling and there are absolutely no plans to change this. If you need a more
-dynamic configuration you should create a little script which generates a
-configuration file and run it before starting i3 (for example in your
-+~/.xsession+ file).
+Variables are directly replaced in the file when parsing. Variables expansion
+is not recursive so it is not possible to define a variable with a value
+containing another variable. There is no fancy handling and there are
+absolutely no plans to change this. If you need a more dynamic configuration
+you should create a little script which generates a configuration file and run
+it before starting i3 (for example in your +~/.xsession+ file).
 
 === Automatically putting clients on specific workspaces