Key Facts
- Hangul: 영리하다 (yeongnihada)
- Meaning: clever
- Level: B1
- Part of speech: adjective
- Stem: 영리하
- Conjugation class: 하다 type
- Grammar: Often used for animals and children, which take 이/가 or 은/는.
- Usage: More written or formal than 똑똑하다.
What Does 영리하다 Mean?
영리하다 describes a quick-witted, sharp person or animal, as in 영리한 강아지 (a clever puppy). It stresses quick wit and good judgment.
It is more written or formal than 똑똑하다, and it is often used for animals and children. You will see it in stories and news more than in casual talk.
How Do You Pronounce 영리하다?
When ㄹ follows ㅇ, the ㄹ is read as ㄴ (ㅇ+ㄹ → [ㄴ]), so 영리하다 is read [영니하다] and every form starts with the same yeong-ni sound, as in 영리해요 [영니해요].
How Do You Use 영리하다 in a Sentence?
이 강아지는 정말 영리해요.
This puppy is really clever.
이 강아지는 is the topic and 정말 intensifies 영리해요.
영리한 아이라서 금방 배워요.
Because she is clever, she learns quickly.
영리한 아이라서 gives the reason with the copula ending, and 금방 배워요 says she learns quickly.
그 고양이는 영리했어요.
That cat was clever.
The past 영리했어요 suits a story about a cat you once knew.
How Does Yeongnihada Conjugation Work?
영리하다 is a 하다 adjective, so 영리해요, 영리했어요 and 영리해서 use the contracted 해. The modifier is 영리한, the honorific is 영리하세요, and the negative is 영리하지 않아요.
영리하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 영리해요 | ||
| Polite past | 영리했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 영리할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 영리하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 영리합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 영리했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 영리할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 영리해 | ||
| Casual past | 영리했어 | ||
| Casual future | 영리할 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 영리하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 영리해서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 영리하면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 영리한 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 영리했던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 영리할 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 영리해요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 영리하지 않아요 |
No want-to row: -고 싶다 suits verbs.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 영리해요 | [영니해요] |
| Polite past | 영리했어요 | [영니해써요] |
| Polite future | 영리할 거예요 | [영니할꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 영리하겠어요 | [영니하게써요] |
| Formal present | 영리합니다 | [영니함니다] |
| Formal past | 영리했습니다 | [영니핻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 영리할 것입니다 | [영니할꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 영리해 | [영니해] |
| Casual past | 영리했어 | [영니해써] |
| Casual future | 영리할 거야 | [영니할꺼야] |
| Honorific polite | 영리하세요 | [영니하세요] |
| Because / and then | 영리해서 | [영니해서] |
| If (conditional) | 영리하면 | [영니하면] |
| Present modifier | 영리한 | [영니한] |
| Past modifier | 영리했던 | [영니핻떤] |
| Future modifier | 영리할 | [영니할] |
| Short negative | 안 영리해요 | [안 영니해요] |
| Long negative | 영리하지 않아요 | [영니하지 아나요] |
영리하다 Forms to Reach for First
- Politely (clever): 영리해요
- Earlier, in the past (clever): 영리했어요
- Giving the reason (clever): 영리해서
- If the condition holds (clever): 영리하면
- Before a noun (clever): 영리한, or 영리했던 for the past
- Denying it (clever): 영리하지 않아요
- Honorific, about a respected person (clever): 영리하세요
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 영리를 해요
Correct: ✓ 영리해요
Why: Learners treat 영리 as a noun that takes 를 해요, as many 하다 nouns do. This word is an adjective, so it conjugates directly as 영리해요.
When Does 영리하다 Fit Best?
Prefer 영리하다 for animals, story characters and formal descriptions. Use 똑똑하다 for friends and everyday chat. In writing, 영리한 appears before animals and children, as in the puppy example above. In conversation, speakers more often choose 똑똑하다, so treat 영리해요 as the more polished choice when you praise a pet in a story or a post.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 영리하다?
| Word | How to tell it from 영리하다 |
|---|---|
| 똑똑하다 | 똑똑하다 is the common everyday word for smart; 영리하다 is a bit more formal and stresses sharp wit and good judgment. |
| 멍청하다 | The opposite: 멍청하다 means dull-witted, and it can sound rude when said about a person. |
Watching a Puppy Learn a Trick
A visitor watches a puppy respond to its owner. The compliment concerns learning quickly, so 영리하다 fits the scene.
Visitor
강아지가 정말 영리해요.
Gangajiga jeongmal yeongnihaeyo.
Your puppy is really clever.
Owner
네. 영리해서 금방 배워요.
Ne. Yeongnihaeseo geumbang baewoyo.
Yes. It’s clever, so it learns quickly.
Visitor
저도 영리한 강아지를 키우고 싶어요.
Jeodo yeongnihan gangajireul kiugo sipeoyo.
I’d like to raise a clever puppy too.
The visitor first makes a statement with 영리해요, then the owner gives a reason with 영리해서. In the final line, 영리한 describes 강아지. The wish ending belongs to 키우다, “to raise”, rather than to 영리하다 itself.
Common Combinations: Clever in What Way?
| Combination | Meaning | What it highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 영리한 아이 | a clever child | Quick understanding or good judgment. |
| 영리한 강아지 | a clever puppy | Learning or responding well. |
| 영리하게 대처하다 | to handle a situation cleverly | A practical response to a problem. |
| 영리하게 행동하다 | to act cleverly | How someone behaves in a particular situation. |
These are literal combinations rather than idioms. The useful shift is from 영리한, which describes a person or animal, to 영리하게, which describes how an action is done. A clever child and a clever response focus on different things: a general trait versus a specific piece of behaviour.
A story about a child finding a way home may praise quick thinking with 영리하다. A school report about completing homework every day may instead need 성실하다, “diligent”. Quick understanding does not tell you how consistently someone works. The two qualities can occur together, but one compliment does not establish the other.
Where Will You Hear 영리하다?
Animal videos, children's stories and descriptions of resourceful characters are useful places to recognise 영리하다. A pet owner may use it quite naturally in conversation; its more written feel does not make it an exclusively formal word. The ending 영리해요 is still ordinary polite speech.
In a drama, the adjective can praise someone's ability to read a situation. Tone and the surrounding action matter. The basic word means clever; it does not by itself mean kind, honest or obedient. If a character has found a selfish solution, the story supplies that judgment rather than the adjective alone.
Calling an adult 영리하다 directly can feel like evaluating their intelligence. When thanking a colleague, naming the helpful action is often more specific than grading the person. With a pet or a child learning a skill, the same adjective usually has a clearer role as encouragement.
Why Do Spelling and Pronunciation Differ?
영리하다 keeps ㄹ in writing even though the sound is [영니하다]. The National Institute of Korean Language's Standard Pronunciation Rules explain the change of ㄹ to ㄴ after final ㅇ. This is a pronunciation rule, so it applies across the forms in the table without changing the written stem.
Wrong: ✗ 영니해요, used as a spelling.
Correct: ✓ 영리해요.
The sound helps you understand speech, but writing the sound directly loses the standard spelling. The romanization yeongnihada is a listening aid here: its n reflects the sound rather than a written ㄴ in the headword.
The other trap is grammatical. 영리한 already contains the ending needed before a noun. Adding an English-style “is” to that modifier does not create the normal standalone compliment. Choose 영리해요 for the whole statement and 영리한 아이 for a noun phrase. The ending changes the job of the word.
Related Qualities to Learn Next
| Related word | Meaning | One-line distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 똑똑하다 | smart | A common everyday compliment about intelligence. |
| 성실하다 | diligent, sincere | Praises steady effort or reliability. |
| 착하다 | kind, good-hearted | Describes character rather than quick thinking. |
| 눈치 | awareness of social cues | Helps explain what someone notices in a situation. |
The personality vocabulary lesson groups these descriptions with other traits. Choose the quality you actually observed: learning a trick quickly supports 영리하다, while helping someone supports a different kind of praise.
Mini Drill: Select the Clever Form
- Complete “a clever puppy”: ___ 강아지.
- Give the polite past of 영리하다.
- Complete “because it is clever”: 영리___.
- Write the standard spelling of the form pronounced [영니해요].
Show drill answers
- 영리한 강아지.
- 영리했어요.
- 영리해서.
- 영리해요. Keep ㄹ in writing.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 영리하다 necessarily mean well-behaved?
- Which word better describes steady effort: 성실하다 or 영리하다?
- In the puppy dialogue, which action carries the wish ending?
Show answers
- No. It describes cleverness, not manners.
- 성실하다.
- 키우다, “to raise”. 영리한 only describes the puppy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 영리하다?
영리해요.
How Is 영리하다 Different from 똑똑하다?
영리하다 is a bit more formal and stresses sharp wit and good judgment; 똑똑하다 is the common word.
Can I Say 영리를 해요?
No. The word is an adjective, so say 영리해요.
What Is the Opposite?
멍청하다, which means dull-witted and can sound rude about a person.
Which Words Are Related to 영리하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Pair 영리하다 with 똑똑하다 to learn both registers of 'smart', and keep 성실하다 in mind for a different kind of praise. The pattern is explained in how 하다 words become 해요. Then run another word through the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.