Japanese word

利根

Pronunciation

Romajirikon

Meaning

  • nouncleverness

Example

彼の利根に皆が驚きました。kare no ri kon ni mina ga odoro ki ma shi ta

Everyone was surprised by his cleverness.

Illustration for 利根 (cleverness)

More examples

利根に恵まれた彼女は、複雑な計算も難なくこなしました。ri kon ni megu ma re ta kano jo wa fuku zatsu na kei san mo nan na ku ko na shi ma shi ta

Blessed with intelligence, she handled even complex calculations with ease.

Core concept

Expresses the idea that a person's intelligence is a natural mental faculty rather than a skill gained through training.

Common phrases

  • 利根に恵まれるri kon ni megu ma re ru

    be blessed with intelligence

  • 利根に富むri kon ni to mu

    be highly intelligent

Similar words

才知saichi: The ability to think clearly and use knowledge effectively.
知能chinō: The mental ability to learn, reason, and solve problems.
知性chisei: The ability to understand ideas and think in a logical way.

Definition in Japanese

生まれつき知恵があり、物事をよく理解して判断できる性質。u ma re tsu ki chi e ga a ri mono goto o yo ku ri kai shi te han dan de ki ru sei shitsu

Word origin

利根 (rikon) is a Sino-Japanese compound of 利 (ri, "sharpness") and 根 (kon, "root"), meaning a sharp natural faculty.

Usage tips

  • Unlike the everyday adjective 利口 (rikō), this noun treats cleverness as an inherent mental capacity, so the two words are not interchangeable in every sentence.

Other meanings

  • aptitudenoun
  • intelligencenoun

Opposites

  • 愚鈍gudondullnessna-adjective

Related words

  • 利根さrikonsaclevernessnoun

Word lists with this word