悪 賢(わるがしこ)い

わるがしこい

i-adjective

cunning; crafty; sly

Conjugation

	Affirmative	Negative
Present	悪賢(わるがしこ)い	悪賢(わるがしこ)くない
Past	悪賢(わるがしこ)かった	悪賢(わるがしこ)くなかった
て form	悪賢(わるがしこ)くて	悪賢(わるがしこ)くなくて
Adverbial	悪賢(わるがしこ)く	—
Conditional ば	悪賢(わるがしこ)ければ	悪賢(わるがしこ)くなければ
Conditional たら	悪賢(わるがしこ)かったら	悪賢(わるがしこ)くなかったら

1. cunning; crafty; sly

Having or showing shrewdness used for dishonest or selfish purposes. Clever in a morally questionable way.

悪賢(わるがしこ)いやり方(かた)だ。

That's a crafty way of doing things.

あの男(おとこ)は悪賢(わるがしこ)くて信用(しんよう)できない。

That man is cunning and can't be trusted.

悪賢(わるがしこ)い商人(しょうにん)に騙(だま)されて大金(たいきん)を失(うしな)った。

I was tricked by a cunning merchant and lost a large sum of money.

子(こ)どもながら悪賢(わるがしこ)くて、大人(おとな)を上手(うま)く言(い)いくるめる。

Despite being a child, they are sly and skillfully talk adults into things.

A compound adjective formed from 悪(わる)い (bad) + 賢(かしこ)い (clever/smart). Describes intelligence used for dishonest or self-serving ends. Always negative — unlike 賢(かしこ)い alone, which is positive.

Etymology

Combines 悪(わる) (bad, evil) with 賢(かしこ)い (wise, clever). The rendaku voicing changes かしこい to がしこい.

Common collocations

悪賢(わるがしこ)いやり方(かた): a cunning method
悪賢(わるがしこ)い人(ひと): a sly person
悪賢(わるがしこ)い商売(しょうばい): shady business dealings

Similar words

ずる賢(がしこ)い: cunning, wily (very close synonym, slightly more colloquial)
狡猾(こうかつ)な: crafty, cunning (more formal and literary)
抜(ぬ)け目(め)がない: shrewd, not missing a trick (can be neutral or positive)

Related Words

Compare: ずる賢(がしこ)い (cunning, wily)

Compare: 狡猾(こうかつ) (crafty, cunning)

Compare: 抜(ぬ)け目(め)がない (shrewd, not missing a trick)

general

Added 2026.3.31 3:22 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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