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機靈鬼

简机灵鬼 · 繁機靈鬼

Mandarin · pinyin jī líng guǐ

(jocular) clever and quick-witted person

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Characters in this entry

機: Look up this written character
靈: Look up this written character
鬼: guǐ · ghost; spirit of dead; devil; Kangxi radical 194; 23rd lunar mansion, determinative star θ Cancri
机: jī · desk; machine; moment
灵: líng · spirit, soul; spiritual world

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3 · ji1 ling2 gui3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

機靈鬼 · find source passages ↗ · 机灵鬼 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gei1 ling4 gwai2

Cantonese word readings for 機靈鬼. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(humorous, colloquial) clever and quick-witted person; smart child

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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