小賢(こざか)しい

こざかしい
i-adjective
impudently clever; cunning
descriptive
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present小賢(こざか)しい小賢(こざか)しくない
Past小賢(こざか)しかった小賢(こざか)しくなかった
て form小賢(こざか)しくて小賢(こざか)しくなくて
Adverbial小賢(こざか)しく—
Conditional ば小賢(こざか)しければ小賢(こざか)しくなければ
Conditional たら小賢(こざか)しかったら小賢(こざか)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(こざか)しい真似(まね)はやめろ。
Stop playing your petty tricks.
あの子(こ)は小賢(こざか)しいことを言(い)う。
That kid says annoyingly clever things.
小賢(こざか)しい手段(しゅだん)で人(ひと)を騙(だま)そうとするやつは信用(しんよう)できない。
You can't trust someone who tries to fool people with petty cunning.

The prefix 小(こ) adds a diminutive, contemptuous nuance to 賢(かしこ)い (clever, smart). While 賢(かしこ)い is positive, 小賢(こざか)しい is always negative — it implies cleverness that is petty, irritating, or presumptuous.

Common collocations

  • 小賢(こざか)しい真似(まね): petty tricks
  • 小賢(こざか)しい手段(しゅだん): cunning methods
  • 小賢(こざか)しいことを言(い)う: to say annoyingly clever things
  • 小賢(こざか)しい子(こ)ども: a precociously clever child (pejorative)

Similar words

Related Words

Compare: 賢(かしこ)い (clever, smart)
Compare: 狡(ずる)い (sly, cunning)
Compare: 生意気(なまいき) (cheeky, impudent)
general
Added 2026.4.10 12:37 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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