小賢しい
こざかしい
adjective
impudently clever; cunning
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 小賢しい | 小賢しくない |
| Past | 小賢しかった | 小賢しくなかった |
| て form | 小賢しくて | 小賢しくなくて |
| Adverbial | 小賢しく | — |
| Conditional ば | 小賢しければ | 小賢しくなければ |
| Conditional たら | 小賢しかったら | 小賢しくなかったら |
1.
impudently clever; cunning; shrewd in an annoying way
Describes someone who is clever in a petty, irritating way — using small tricks or manipulations rather than genuine intelligence.
小賢しい真似はやめろ。
Stop playing your petty tricks.
あの子は小賢しいことを言う。
That kid says annoyingly clever things.
小賢しい手段で人を騙そうとするやつは信用できない。
You can't trust someone who tries to fool people with petty cunning.
The prefix 小 adds a diminutive, contemptuous nuance to 賢い (clever, smart). While 賢い is positive, 小賢しい is always negative — it implies cleverness that is petty, irritating, or presumptuous.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 小賢しい真似: petty tricks
- 小賢しい手段: cunning methods
- 小賢しいことを言う: to say annoyingly clever things
- 小賢しい子ども: a precociously clever child (pejorative)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 賢い: clever, smart — positive evaluation
- 狡い: sly, cunning — focuses on unfair advantage
- 生意気: cheeky, impudent — focuses on disrespect toward superiors