HSK 6 · Adjectives

伶俐 línglì “clever” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 伶俐 means

  1. clever
  2. quick-witted
  3. witty
  4. intelligent
  5. deft
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • adroit

How to say 伶俐

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale伶líng2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale俐lì4th tone, falling

伶俐 in a sentence

  1. 她口齿伶俐。

    Tā kǒuchǐ línglì.

    She’s very articulate.

    Sentence #8510726 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 伶俐 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 伶 (líng) with each of its parts in a different colour
伶língactor; actress
  • 亻person form of 人 · rénMeaning part
  • 令command · língSound part

亻 hints at the meaning (person); 令 (líng) hints at the sound. Compare it with líng.

The character 俐 (lì) with each of its parts in a different colour
俐lì
  • 亻person form of 人 · rénMeaning part
  • 利gains · lìSound part

亻 hints at the meaning (person); 利 (lì) hints at the sound. Compare it with lì.

How to write 伶俐

伶 7 strokes · 俐 9 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

伶俐 (línglì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 伶俐 (línglì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 伶俐

More words: Adjectives

冷酷lěngkù · cold-hearted廉洁liánjié · honest辽阔liáokuò · vast利害lìhai · terrible灵敏língmǐn · sensitive零星língxīng · scattered吝啬lìnsè · stingy立体lìtǐ · three-dimensional

FAQs

伶俐 (línglì) means “clever” or “quick-witted”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it línglì: líng with a 2nd tone, then lì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 伶俐 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type lingli with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 伶俐 from the suggestions. Typing lingli into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
伶俐 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.