聪明

cōng ming

HSK 2.0 Level 3 HSK 3.0 Level 3 Adjective Very common

Definitions

1. intelligent
2. clever
3. bright
4. smart
5. acute (of sight and hearing)

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

愚蠢

yú chǔn

silly

直接反义，指缺乏智慧

Related words

1 item

智慧

zhì huì

wisdom

更偏向于指深刻的智慧和洞察力

Synonyms

2 items

机灵

jī líng

clever

侧重于反应快，机智

伶俐

líng lì

clever

常用于形容小孩聪明可爱

Usage notes

Collocations

常与“很”、“非常”等程度副词连用，但通常不作定语修饰“人”，可以说“他很聪明”，一般不说“一个聪明人”。

Common mistakes

学习者可能混淆“聪明”与“智慧”，后者更抽象，常用于“人生智慧”等短语。

Example Sentences

5 shown

她天生聪明，学什么都快。

She is innately smart and learns everything quickly.

她既聪明又努力。

She is both smart and hardworking.

人类是一种聪明的动物。

Humans are an intelligent species of animal.

这个孩子很聪明。

This child is very smart.

我的孙子很聪明。

My grandson is very smart.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 聪明

事后聪明

shì hòu cōng ming

wise after the event (idiom); with hindsight, one should have predicted it

冰雪聪明

bīng xuě cōng ming

exceptionally intelligent (idiom)

小聪明

xiǎo cōng ming

clever-clever

机关算尽太聪明，反算了卿卿性命

jī guān suàn jìn tài cōng ming , fǎn suàn le qīng qīng xìng mìng

if one is too calculating, it will be the cause of one's own undoing (famous line in \A Dream of Red Mansions\ 紅樓夢|红楼梦[hóng lóu mèng])

绝顶聪明

jué dǐng cōng ming

highly intelligent; brilliant

耍小聪明

shuǎ xiǎo cōng ming

to get smart

聪明一世，懵懂一时

cōng ming yī shì , měng dǒng yī shí

see 聰明一世，糊塗一時|聪明一世，糊涂一时[cōng ming yī shì , hú tu yī shí]

聪明一世，糊涂一时

cōng ming yī shì , hú tu yī shí

even the wisest can have a momentary lapse in judgment (idiom)

聪明伶俐

cōng ming líng lì

clever and quick-witted

聪明反被聪明误

cōng míng fǎn bèi cōng míng wù

a clever person may become the victim of his own ingenuity (idiom); cleverness may overreach itself

聪明才智

cōng ming cái zhì

intelligence and wisdom

聪明绝顶

cōng ming jué dǐng

highly intelligent; brilliant

too clever by half

to think oneself clever (idiom)

Child Words of 聪明

bright

quick at hearing