機靈

See also: 机灵

Chinese

		machine; opportunity; secret	alert; departed soul; efficacious alert; departed soul; efficacious; quick; effective; intelligence
trad. (機靈)		機	靈
simp. (机灵)		机	灵
alternative forms		機伶／机伶
anagram		靈機／灵机

Etymology

Probably a compound from 精 (jīng, “clever”). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jīling, jīlíng

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧ ˙ㄌㄧㄥ, ㄐㄧ ㄌㄧㄥˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gei¹ ling⁴
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): ki-lêng

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jīling
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧ ˙ㄌㄧㄥ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jili̊ng
    • Wade–Giles: chi¹-ling⁵
    • Yale: jī-ling
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ji.ling
    • Palladius: цзилин (czilin)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi⁵⁵ liŋ²/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jīlíng
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧ ㄌㄧㄥˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jilíng
    • Wade–Giles: chi¹-ling²
    • Yale: jī-líng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiling
    • Palladius: цзилин (czilin)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi⁵⁵ liŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gei¹ ling⁴
    • Yale: gēi lìhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gei¹ ling⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: géi¹ ling⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kei̯⁵⁵ lɪŋ²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ki-lêng
    • Tâi-lô: ki-lîng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kileeng
    • IPA (Xiamen): /ki⁴⁴⁻²² liɪŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ki⁴⁴⁻²² liɪŋ¹³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /ki³³ liɪŋ²⁴/

Adjective

(deprecated template usage) 機靈

1. quick on one's feet; quick-witted; sharp; smart

Synonyms

• 機智／机智 (jīzhì)

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
Mandarin	Beijing	聰明
	Taiwan	聰明
	Jinan	聰明
	Xi'an	靈, 靈醒
	Wuhan	聰明
	Chengdu	精靈, 聰明
	Guilin	聰明
	Yangzhou	聰明
	Hefei	聰明
	Malaysia	聰明
	Singapore	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
	Quanzhou	聰明, 骨, 骨鳥 derogatory
	Zhangzhou	聰明
	Taipei	聰明, 巧, 明白
	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
	Shuangfeng	聰明

Derived terms

(deprecated template usage)