inteligente
/ĩ.te.liˈʒẽ.t͡ʃi/
The English word 'smart' is translated into Portuguese as inteligente.
The word inteligente is used to describe someone or something exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books.
Meaning: exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books (adj)
Which one should you use?
While inteligente refers to intellectual or academic intelligence, the word esperto is often used to describe someone who is 'street-smart' or quick-witted. If you want to say someone is talented, use talentoso. For someone who is knowledgeable, cunning or crafty, use sabido. For a more colloquial term describing someone extremely clever, sly or cunning, use espertalhão.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective inteligente is invariant for gender, meaning it is the same for both masculine and feminine nouns. To make the adjective plural, add an 's' to form inteligentes.
How do you pronounce it?
/ĩ.te.liˈʒẽ.tʃi/. The word has 5 syllables and the stress is on the 4th syllable.
Did you know?
- The word sabido can be used to describe a person who is 'wise' or 'knowledgeable', but it can also be used sarcastically to describe someone acting like a 'know-it-all'.
- The word inteligente was borrowed from the Latin intelligentem, which comes from the root for 'understanding'.
- Because inteligente is an adjective that ends in 'e', it is one of the few words where the spelling does not change to indicate gender, unlike most Portuguese adjectives.
Examples in context
- O cão é inteligente.The dog is smart.This sentence is useful for describing the intelligence of a dog using inteligente.Tatoeba #1189940 by alexmarcelo, translation #558999 by djinni74
- Ele não é inteligente.He isn't smart.This sentence is useful for stating that someone is not smart using inteligente.Tatoeba #9475429 by carlosalberto, translation #8477850 by CH
- Eu não sou inteligente.I'm not smart.This sentence is useful for stating that you are not smart using inteligente.Tatoeba #4849914 by bill, translation #2248180 by CK
- João é um menino muito inteligente.João is a very smart boy.
- A advogada fez uma observação perspicaz durante o julgamento.The lawyer made a smart observation during the trial.
- Ela é uma pianista muito talentosa e inteligente.She is a very talented and smart pianist.
- Ele é um garoto esperto, sempre encontra soluções para os problemas.He is a smart boy, always finding solutions for problems.
- A Maria é bem sabida, sempre tem uma resposta na ponta da língua.Maria is quite smart, she always has a quick response.
- O Pedro é um espertalhão, sempre pregando peças nos outros.Pedro is a smart aleck, always playing tricks on others.
- 96 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Mariana are talking about a classmate.
- GabrielVocê acha que a Sofia é inteligente?Do you think Sofia is smart?
- MarianaSim, ela tira notas ótimas em tudo.Yes, she gets great grades in everything.
- GabrielEla realmente é muito inteligente.She really is very smart.
- MarianaEla lê muitos livros difíceis.She reads many difficult books.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “smart” translations and entries inteligente, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries inteligente, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
