小聪明 (xiǎo cōng ming) — (pejorative) petty cleverness; trickiness; playing smart in trivial matters

Definition

Examples

• 他总是耍小聪明，结果没人相信他。
  Tā zǒng shì shuǎ xiǎo cōng ming, jié guǒ méi rén xiāng xìn tā.
  He always plays petty tricks, and as a result no one trusts him.
• 做学问不能靠小聪明，一定要下苦功夫。
  Zuò xué wèn bù néng kào xiǎo cōng ming, yí dìng yào xià kǔ gōng fu.
  To do scholarship you can't rely on petty cleverness; you must put in hard work.
• 他用小聪明应付面试，最后还是没有得到那份工作。
  Tā yòng xiǎo cōng ming yìng fu miàn shì, zuì hòu hái shì méi yǒu dé dào nà fèn gōng zuò.
  He used petty cleverness to get through the interview, but in the end he didn't get the job.