聪明 meaning in English
intelligent; clever; bright; acute (of sight and hearing)
Meaning of 聪明
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- intelligent; clever; bright
- acute (of sight and hearing)
How to use 聪明
聪明 describes people or animals who are naturally smart or quick to understand. It often goes after 很 or 真. Example: 这个孩子很聪明。(Zhège háizi hěn cōngming.) This child is very clever.
聪 (cōng) has the ear radical 耳 on the left, and 明 (míng) is the sun 日 next to the moon 月, meaning bright. Sharp ears plus a bright mind make someone 聪明, clever.
Common mistake: Learners often say the second syllable with a full second tone. In everyday speech it is usually neutral, cōngming, though cōngmíng is also heard. Also, do not use 聪明 for a clever idea or design. For that, say 好主意 or 巧妙 instead.
聪明 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
聪 cōng · sharp · 15 strokes
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明 míng · bright · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 聪明.
| 明白 | míngbai | clear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 明年 | míngnián | next year |
| 说明 | shuōmíng | to explain; to illustrate |
| 明星 | míngxīng | star; celebrity |
| 证明 | zhèngmíng | proof; certificate |
| 明显 | míngxiǎn | clear; distinct |
| 发明 | fāmíng | to invent; an invention |
| 表明 | biǎomíng | to make clear; to make known |
| 文明 | wénmíng | civilized; civilization |
| 明确 | míngquè | clear-cut; definite; explicit; to clarify; to specify; to make definite |
| 声明 | shēngmíng | to state; to declare |
Questions about 聪明
What does 聪明 mean?
聪明 (cōngmíng) means "intelligent; clever; bright; acute (of sight and hearing)" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 聪明?
聪明 is made of 2 characters: 聪 (15 strokes), 明 (8 strokes). That is 23 strokes in total.
Is 聪明 an HSK word?
Yes. 聪明 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 聪明 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 聪明 is written 聰明.
What is the difference between 聪明 and 智慧?
聪明 is an adjective for being quick and smart. 智慧 (zhìhuì) is usually a noun meaning wisdom, the deeper understanding that often comes with experience.
Can 聪明 be negative?
Yes. In phrases like 自作聪明 (zì zuò cōngming), meaning to think you are clever when you are not, it carries criticism. 小聪明 (xiǎo cōngming) means petty cleverness or cunning.