聪明 (cōng míng) — smart, intelligent, clever

Definition

Everyday adjective for people or animals: quick to learn, good at solving problems. 智能 is more technical (AI/智能机); 懂事 is about social maturity, not intellect.

adjective
smartintelligentclever

Examples

  • ，聪明。
    Tā xué xí hěn nǔ lì, yě hěn cōng míng.
    She studies hard and is also very smart.
  • 聪明！
    Nǐ de bàn fǎ zhēn cōng míng!
    Your method is really clever!
  • 聪明，。
    Zhè zhī māo hěn cōng míng, huì zì jǐ kāi mén.
    This cat is very smart — it can open the door by itself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

聪cōngacute hearing
明míngclear sight

聪 refers to sharp hearing and 明 to clear sight; together they describe quick understanding.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 聰; 聪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
囪
囪cōng聰cōng
Same sound today

The traditional form 聰 has 耳, the ear, beside a right side made of 囪, a window giving the sound, over 心, the heart; the simplified 聪 is a later abbreviation.

Open 聪 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3HSK 2.0 Level 31000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsPersonality & Traits2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 3 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.