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I have read the sentence 

"12歳の小児の知力しかない".

In this sentence , I would like to know the usage of 知力 .
In dictionary , it means "intelligence "
Can I use 知恵 or 知能 instead of 知力.
Is there any difference in usage between them.

With Regards,

lelewin
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    Related [question](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1308/what-are-the-nuances-between-these-three-terms-for-intelligence-%E7%9F%A5%E6%81%B5-%E3%81%A1%E3%81%88-%E3%80%80%E7%9F%A5%E8%83%BD-%E3%81%A1%E3%81%AE) – Louis Waweru Jul 04 '12 at 05:36
  • What's the context of the sentence? I'm reading it as "this person only has the brains of a 12 year old." Do you have the text before it? – Louis Waweru Jul 05 '12 at 03:55
  • @Louis This sentence means " This person has the mentality of a 12-year-old child " . I think so. – lelewin Jul 05 '12 at 04:03
  • I think 気質 can be used for mentality/temperament. – Flaw Jul 06 '12 at 06:38
  • @Flaw Is 気質 is more suitable than 知力 to show one's mentality? – lelewin Jul 06 '12 at 06:56
  • I do not know if it's more suitable. Sorry. – Flaw Jul 06 '12 at 11:41

1 Answers1

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[Standard Japanese learner disclaimer.]

To me, 知力 is more related to 知能 than it is to 知恵.

I think the 力 in 知力 implies mental ability, which is somewhat synonymous with the meaning of 能.

For 知恵, I can't do a comparison by kanji, but the definition seems more closely related to wisdom and knowledge (acquired intelligence), than it does to the abilities that come with talent (natural intelligence).

For example which is more applicable to an IQ test vs. a subject specific test like the LSAT?

Louis Waweru
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