The word "聪颖" is formed by combining the character "聪", which uses the radical "耳" (ear) to associate with hearing and by extension perceptual acuity or wisdom, with the character "颖", which uses the radical "禾" (grain) to evoke the image of a sharp tip and thus denote sharpness or cleverness; together, these characters semantically reinforce each other to convey the meaning of intelligence.