Usage note
调皮形容小孩爱玩爱闹，有时不听话，但通常没有恶意。
Tiáo pí xíngróng xiǎohái ài wán ài nào, yǒushí bù tīnghuà, dàn tōngcháng méiyǒu èyì.
Mischievous describes children who like to play and be noisy, sometimes disobedient, but usually without bad intentions.
Context note
调皮常用来形容小朋友的可爱行为，比如在教室里偷偷做小动作。
Tiáo pí cháng yòng lái xíngróng xiǎopéngyǒu de kě'ài xíngwéi, bǐrú zài jiàoshì lǐ tōutōu zuò xiǎo dòngzuò.
Mischievous is often used to describe cute behaviors of children, like secretly making small movements in the classroom.
5 examples
弟弟很调皮，总是跑来跑去。
dì di hěn tiáo pí， zǒng shì pǎo lái pǎo qù。
Little brother is very mischievous, always running around.
调皮的小猫把毛线球弄乱了。
tiáo pí de xiǎo māo bǎ máo xiàn qiú nòng luàn le。
The mischievous kitten messed up the yarn ball.
小明虽然调皮，但是很善良。
xiǎo míng suī rán tiáo pí， dàn shì hěn shàn liáng。
Xiao Ming is mischievous but very kind.
老师让调皮的小朋友安静下来。
lǎo shī ràng tiáo pí de xiǎo péng yǒu ān jìng xià lái。
The teacher asked the mischievous child to calm down.
调皮的孩子喜欢开玩笑。
tiáo pí de hái zi xǐ huan kāi wán xiào。
Mischievous children like to play jokes.
5 mini stories
小猴子很调皮，它把香蕉皮扔在地上。大家笑了。
xiǎo hóu zi hěn tiáo pí， tā bǎ xiāng jiāo pí rēng zài dì shàng。 dà jiā xiào le。
The little monkey was mischievous, it threw the banana peel on the ground. Everyone laughed.
调皮的小狗咬坏了我的鞋子。我没有生气。
tiáo pí de xiǎo gǒu yǎo huài le wǒ de xié zǐ。 wǒ méi yǒu shēng qì。
The mischievous puppy chewed up my shoes. I wasn't angry.
小明在课堂上调皮，偷偷画画。老师看到了，笑了。
xiǎo míng zài kè táng shàng tiáo pí， tōu tōu huà huà。 lǎo shī kàn dào le， xiào le。
Xiao Ming was mischievous in class, secretly drawing. The teacher saw and smiled.
调皮的小鸟把花盆推倒了。妈妈把它扶起来。
tiáo pí de xiǎo niǎo bǎ huā pén tuī dǎo le。 mā ma bǎ tā fú qǐ lái。
The mischievous bird knocked over the flowerpot. Mom picked it up.
弟弟很调皮，他藏起了我的书包。我找到了。
dì di hěn tiáo pí， tā cáng qǐ le wǒ de shū bāo。 wǒ zhǎo dào le。
Little brother was mischievous, he hid my backpack. I found it.
Mini dialogue
小猫
A
你的小猫怎么样？
Nǐ de xiǎo māo zěnme yàng?
How is your kitten?
B
它很调皮，喜欢跑来跑去。
Tā hěn tiáopí, xǐhuān pǎo lái pǎo qù.
It is very mischievous and likes to run around.
弟弟
A
你的弟弟调皮吗？
Nǐ de dìdi tiáopí ma?
Is your little brother naughty?
B
有时候调皮，但他很可爱。
Yǒu shíhou tiáopí, dàn tā hěn kě'ài.
Sometimes naughty, but he is very cute.
Related words and contrasts
similar
淘气
táo qì
naughty; mischievous
Very similar meaning, often used for children.
opposite
乖巧
guāi qiǎo
well-behaved; clever and good
Opposite of 调皮, describing a child who listens and behaves well.
similar
顽皮
wán pí
naughty; playful
Another synonym, slightly more literary.