An intelligent person (inteligente) is mentally bright and has a very high IQ (intelligence quotient). He or she thinks and argues well. He or she knows how to solve problems and makes right decisions.

A smart person (listo) thinks quickly. He or she acts quickly in everyday life.

Una persona lista, pero no muy inteligente manages to get a lot of things in life, but is quite superficial, not thinking in depth. Una persona inteligente, pero no muy lista, lives in his or her intellectual world, but does not alway succeed in real life.

Another example: if a person has become a president of the state, he or she is listo. But he or she doesn’t have to be very inteligente nor know a lot of things.

Listo is used only for people, while inteligente can also be used with things:

CORRECTO: un teléfono inteligente, una casa inteligente

INCORRECTO: un teléfono *lista, una casa *lista

¡Ojo! Ser listo means to think quickly. However, estar listo means to be ready, which is totally different. Compare:

Mi hija es muy lista: es la mejor alumna de su clase

– Hija, ¿estás lista para salir?
– No, mamá, necesito cinco minutos para vestirme.

Finally, if a person stands out for his or her intelligence, he or she is called brillante (bright).

Andrea es brillante: ha hecho la carrera de Medicina en tan sólo 3 años

Brillante is superlative: you can say una persona muy inteligente, una persona muy lista, but it doesn’t sound good *una persona muy brillante.

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