How to Write 悧 (lì) — Meaning “clever”

Picture a smart person whose heart (忄) is as sharp as a knife (利). The right side 利 looks like a knife cutting a stalk of grain, so imagine that this person's cleverness cuts through problems easily.

First write the left vertical stroke of 忄, then the dot, then the right dot — never write the heart radical as three separate dots. On the right side, 利 has a left-slanting 禾 (grain) and a straight 刂 (knife); make sure the two vertical strokes align properly and are not too close.

悧 (lì) means clever, with the sound component 利. 怊 (chāo) means sad or melancholy, using 召 (call) as its sound part. 怍 (zuò) means ashamed or embarrassed, using 乍 (suddenly) as its sound part. They share the 忄 radical but have completely different meanings and pronunciations.

悧 is quite rare in everyday speech but appears in literary or formal contexts, especially in the word 伶悧 (líng lì), meaning clever and quick-witted. It is also used in idioms like 聪明伶悧 to praise someone's sharp intelligence, though it is less common than the similar word 伶俐.

Common words containing 悧 include: 伶悧 (líng lì) — clever; smart; 悧巧 (lì qiǎo) — ingenious; 聪明伶悧 (cōng míng líng lì) — clever and quick-witted.