伶俐

Chinese

	solitary; lonely; actor solitary; lonely; actor; clever	clever
trad. (伶俐)	伶	俐
simp. ^#(伶俐)	伶	俐
alternative forms	伶利怜悧倈俐／俫俐 Northern Min

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): línglì

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄧㄥˊ ㄌㄧˋ
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): ling⁴ lei⁶

(Dongguan, Jyutping++): ngoeng⁴ ngai^4-2
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): làng-li

(Hailu, HRS): lang li^˖

(Meixian, Guangdong): lang² li⁴
Northern Min (KCR): lâi-lī
Eastern Min (BUC): lìng-*lê
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): léng-lī / lêng-lī / lêng-lāi
Southern Pinghua (Nanning, Jyutping++): ling⁴ li²

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: línglì
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄧㄥˊ ㄌㄧˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: línglì
  - Wade–Giles: ling²-li⁴
  - Yale: líng-lì
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: linglih
  - Palladius: линли (linli)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /liŋ³⁵ li⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ling⁴ lei⁶
  - Yale: lìhng leih
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ling⁴ lei⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: ling⁴ léi⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɪŋ²¹ lei̯²²/
- (Dongguan, Guancheng)
  - Jyutping++: ngoeng⁴ ngai^4-2
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋøŋ²¹ ŋɐi²¹⁻³⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: làng-li
  - Hakka Romanization System: lang^ˇ li
  - Hagfa Pinyim: lang² li⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /laŋ¹¹ li⁵⁵/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: lang li^˖
  - Sinological IPA: /laŋ⁵⁵ li³³/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: lang² li⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /laŋ¹¹ li⁵³/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: lâi-lī
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lai³³ li⁵⁵/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: lìng-*lê
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃iŋ⁵³⁻²¹ l̃ɛi²⁴²/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: léng-lī
  - Tâi-lô: líng-lī
  - Phofsit Daibuun: lefngli
  - Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /liɪŋ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ li³³/
  - Sinological IPA (Taipei): /liɪŋ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ li³³/
  - Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /liɪŋ⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ li⁴¹/
  - Sinological IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /liɪŋ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ li²²/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lêng-lī
  - Tâi-lô: lîng-lī
  - Phofsit Daibuun: lengli
  - Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /liɪŋ²⁴⁻²² li²²/
  - Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /liɪŋ²⁴⁻²² li⁴¹/
  - Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /liɪŋ¹³⁻²² li²²/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lêng-lāi
  - Tâi-lô: lîng-lāi
  - Phofsit Daibuun: lenglai
  - Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /liɪŋ²³⁻³³ lai³³/
  - Sinological IPA (Taipei): /liɪŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ lai³³/
Southern Pinghua
- (Nanning Pinghua, Tingzi)
  - Jyutping++: ling⁴ li²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɪŋ²¹ li³³/

Adjective

伶俐

clever; bright; smart
(dialectal Cantonese, Hakka, dialectal Gan, Northern Min, Central Min, Shaojiang Min, Hunan Tuhua) clean
(Hokkien) agile; nimble; dexterous

Synonyms

(clever):

edit

乖巧 (guāiqiǎo)
了了 (liǎoliǎo) (literary)
儇 (Wu, of a child)
奢遮 (Wu, of a child)
宿鬼 (Hokkien)
性靈 / 性灵 (xìnglíng) (literary)
敏慧 (mǐnhuì)
明慧 (mínghuì)
明智 (míngzhì)
機敏 / 机敏 (jīmǐn)
機智 / 机智 (jīzhì)
機穎 / 机颖 (literary)
機警 / 机警 (jījǐng)
機靈 / 机灵
活絡 / 活络 (Wu)
睿智 (ruìzhì)
穎異 / 颖异 (yǐngyì) (formal)
精濟 / 精济 (Hokkien, of a child)
精靈 / 精灵 (jīnglíng)
精齊 / 精齐 (Hokkien, of a child)
經紀 / 经纪 (jīngjì) (archaic)
聰慧 / 聪慧 (cōnghuì)
聰敏 / 聪敏 (cōngmǐn)
聰明 / 聪明 (cōngmíng)
聰穎 / 聪颖 (cōngyǐng) (formal)
英明 (yīngmíng)
調皮 / 调皮 (tiáopí)
靈 / 灵 (líng)
靈光 / 灵光 (⁶lin-kuaon) (Wu)
鬼 (guǐ) (informal)

Dialectal synonyms of 聰明 (“clever; intelligent; smart; bright”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		聰明, 伶俐, 聰敏, 聰穎
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		聰明, 機靈, 伶俐, 聰敏, 聰穎, 聰慧
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	聰明
	Taiwan	聰明
	Malaysia	聰明, pandai
	Singapore	聰明, pandai
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	聰明
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	靈, 靈醒
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	精靈, 聰明
	Chongqing (Changshou)	精靈
	Wuhan	聰明
	Guilin	聰明
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	聰明
Jianghuai Mandarin	Hefei	聰明
Cantonese	Guangzhou	聰明, 醒, 醒目, 叻, 精
	Hong Kong	聰明, 醒, 醒目, 叻, 精
	Taishan	聰明, 叻, 參
	Kaiping (Chikan)	叻
	Yangjiang	伶俐, 叻
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	精, 扮𠮨
	Singapore (Guangfu)	聰明, 精, 叻, 醒目, 扮𠮨
Gan	Nanchang	精靈, 聰明
Hakka	Meixian	聰明, 機靈
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	聰明
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	聰明
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	聰明
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	聰明, 精
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	聰明, 精
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	聰明
	Kuching (Hepo)	將
Jin	Taiyuan	機靈, 聰明
Northern Min	Jian'ou	聰明
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	聰明
Southern Min	Xiamen	聰明, 伶俐
	Quanzhou	聰明, 骨, 骨鳥 derogatory, 伶俐
	Zhangzhou	聰明, 伶俐
	Taipei	聰明, 巧, 明白
	Klang (Hokkien)	𠢕, 勥, 精, 班耐
	Singapore (Hokkien)	聰明, 𠢕, 勥, 醒目, 巧
	Manila (Hokkien)	巧, 勥, 𠢕
	Chaozhou	聰明
	Singapore (Teochew)	聰明
	Wenchang	精
	Singapore (Hainanese)	精
Wu	Suzhou	聰明
	Ningbo	聰明
	Wenzhou	靈, 聰明
Xiang	Changsha	靈泛, 聰明
Xiang	Shuangfeng	聰明

(clean):

Dialectal synonyms of 乾淨 (“clean; not dirty”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		乾淨, 清潔, 潔淨
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	乾淨
	Taiwan	乾淨
	Malaysia	乾淨
	Singapore	乾淨
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	乾淨
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	乾淨
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	乾淨
Southwestern Mandarin	Wuhan	乾淨, 寧馨
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	乾淨, 清爽
Jianghuai Mandarin	Hefei	乾淨, 清亮
Cantonese	Guangzhou	乾淨
	Hong Kong	乾淨
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	伶俐
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	伶俐
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	乾淨
	Taishan	乾淨, 虔誠
	Yangjiang	淨, 伶俐
	Singapore (Guangfu)	乾淨
Gan	Nanchang	乾淨
Hakka	Meixian	淨, 伶俐
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	淨俐, 伶俐
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	淨俐, 伶俐
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	淨俐, 伶俐
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	淨俐, 伶俐
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	淨俐, 伶俐
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	淨俐, 伶俐
	Hong Kong	伶俐
Jin	Taiyuan	乾淨
Northern Min	Jian'ou	伶俐
Northern Min	Jianyang	伶俐
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	澈潔, 澈
	Fuzhou (Changle)	澈
	Fuqing	澈潔
	Yongtai	澈潔
	Gutian	澈潔
	Pingnan	澈
	Fu'an	清氣
	Ningde	澈, 澈潔
	Xiapu	澈潔
	Zherong	澈潔
	Shouning	澈潔
	Zhouning	澈, 澈潔, 清氣
	Fuding	清氣
	Matsu	澈潔, 清氣
Southern Min	Xiamen	清氣
	Quanzhou	清氣
	Jinjiang	清氣
	Yongchun	清氣
	Zhangzhou	清氣
	Zhao'an	清氣
	Taipei	清氣
	Taipei (Wanhua)	清氣
	New Taipei (Tamsui)	清氣
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	清氣
	New Taipei (Pingxi)	清氣
	Kaohsiung	清氣
	Yilan	清氣
	Changhua (Lukang)	清氣
	Taichung	清氣
	Taichung (Wuqi)	清氣
	Tainan	清氣
	Taitung	清氣
	Hsinchu	清氣
	Kinmen	清氣
	Penghu (Magong)	清氣
	Penang (Hokkien)	清氣
	Singapore (Hokkien)	清氣
	Manila (Hokkien)	清氣
	Longyan	清氣
	Datian	清氣
	Chaozhou	清氣
	Shantou	清氣
	Shantou (Chenghai)	清氣
	Jieyang	清氣
	Haifeng	清氣
	Singapore (Teochew)	清氣
	Leizhou	澈, 澈潔
	Haikou	澈, 澈潔
	Qionghai	澈氣
	Singapore (Hainanese)	澈
Puxian Min	Putian	澈, 澈潔, 清氣, 清靠
	Putian (Donghai, Chengxiang)	澈, 清靠
	Putian (Jiangkou, Hanjiang)	澈潔, 清氣
	Putian (Nanri, Xiuyu)	澈, 澈潔, 清靠
	Xianyou	澈潔, 清氣, 清靠
	Xianyou (Fengting)	澈潔, 清靠, 清氣
	Xianyou (Youyang)	澈潔, 清氣, 清靠
Central Min	Yong'an	清氣
	Sanming (Sanyuan)	清氣
	Sanming (Shaxian)	伶俐
Shaojiang Min	Shaowu	伶俐
Wu	Shanghai	清爽, 乾淨
	Shanghai (Yangpu)	清爽
	Shanghai (Xinzhuang, Minhang)	乾淨
	Shanghai (Songjiang)	清爽
	Shanghai (Chuansha, Pudong)	清爽
	Shanghai (Huinan, Pudong)	清爽
	Shanghai (Fengxian)	清爽
	Shanghai (Jinshan)	清爽
	Shanghai (Qingpu)	乾淨
	Shanghai (Jiading)	清爽
	Shanghai (Yuepu, Baoshan)	清爽, 乾淨
	Shanghai (Chongming)	乾淨
	Suzhou	清爽, 乾淨
	Wenzhou	了滯, 清水, 光生
Xiang	Changsha	乾淨
Xiang	Shuangfeng	乾淨, 料俏

(agile):

edit

便利 (biànlì) (literary)
便捷 (biànjié)
利索 (lìsuo) (colloquial)
利落 (lìluo)
快手 (faai³ sau²) (Cantonese)
手快 (shǒukuài)
敏捷 (mǐnjié)
機動 / 机动 (jīdòng)
粗殘 / 粗残 (chŭ-chàng) (Eastern Min)
緊手 / 紧手 (Hokkien)
緊跤捷手 / 紧跤捷手 (Hokkien)
輕快 / 轻快 (qīngkuài)
靈便 / 灵便 (língbiàn)
靈利 / 灵利 (línglì) (literary)
靈巧 / 灵巧 (língqiǎo)
靈敏 / 灵敏 (língmǐn)
靈活 / 灵活 (línghuó)
麻利 (málì) (colloquial)

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “clever”): 笨拙 (bènzhuō)

Derived terms

不伶俐
伶伶俐俐
伶俐乖覺 / 伶俐乖觉
伶俐人
伶俐嘴乖
伶俐聰敏 / 伶俐聪敏
口齒伶俐 / 口齿伶俐
急伶俐
聰明伶俐 / 聪明伶俐 (cōngmínglínglì)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
伶	俐
れい Jinmeiyō	り Jinmeiyō
on'yomi

Alternative spellings
怜悧伶利

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) れーり [réꜜèrì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]^[2]
(Kyōto) れーり [rèérí] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [ɾe̞ːɾʲi]

Adjective

伶(れい)俐(り) • (reiri) -na (adnominal 伶(れい)俐(り)な (reiri na), adverbial 伶(れい)俐(り)に (reiri ni))

shrewd, clever, intelligent, smart

Inflection

Inflection of 伶俐
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	伶俐だろ	れいりだろ	reiri daro
Continuative (連用形)	伶俐で	れいりで	reiri de
Terminal (終止形)	伶俐だ	れいりだ	reiri da
Attributive (連体形)	伶俐な	れいりな	reiri na
Hypothetical (仮定形)	伶俐なら	れいりなら	reiri nara
Imperative (命令形)	伶俐であれ	れいりであれ	reiri de are
Key constructions
Informal negative	伶俐ではない伶俐じゃない	れいりではないれいりじゃない	reiri de wa nai reiri ja nai
Informal past	伶俐だった	れいりだった	reiri datta
Informal negative past	伶俐ではなかった伶俐じゃなかった	れいりではなかったれいりじゃなかった	reiri de wa nakatta reiri ja nakatta
Formal	伶俐です	れいりです	reiri desu
Formal negative	伶俐ではありません伶俐じゃありません	れいりではありませんれいりじゃありません	reiri de wa arimasen reiri ja arimasen
Formal past	伶俐でした	れいりでした	reiri deshita
Formal negative past	伶俐ではありませんでした伶俐じゃありませんでした	れいりではありませんでしたれいりじゃありませんでした	reiri de wa arimasen deshita reiri ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive	伶俐で	れいりで	reiri de
Conditional	伶俐なら（ば）	れいりなら（ば）	reiri nara (ba)
Provisional	伶俐だったら	れいりだったら	reiri dattara
Volitional	伶俐だろう	れいりだろう	reiri darō
Adverbial	伶俐に	れいりに	reiri ni
Degree	伶俐さ	れいりさ	reirisa

Synonyms

賢(かしこ)い (kashikoi): clever
賢(さか)しい (sakashii): shrewd, clever

Noun

伶(れい)俐(り) • (reiri)

shrewdness, intelligence

References

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 “伶俐”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

“^▲伶^▲俐”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[2] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

[DJR-1] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NKD2-2] 2.0 ^2.1 “伶俐”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

[1]

[2]