挖空心思 (wā kōng xīn si) — to rack one's brains; to think hard and exhaustively
Definition
Idiomatic verb meaning to rack one's brains / think hard to achieve something. Implies deliberate, exhaustive effort — stronger than just 想办法, often with a hint of scheming.
verb
to rack one's brainsto think hard and exhaustively
Examples
- 挖空心思。Tā wā kōng xīn si xiǎng zhǎo gè jiè kǒu bú qù kāi huì.He racked his brains to find an excuse not to go to the meeting.
- ，挖空心思。Wèi le yíng dé bǐ sài, tā men wā kōng xīn si yán jiū duì shǒu de zhàn shù.To win the game, they racked their brains studying the opponent's tactics.
- 挖空心思，。Bié wā kōng xīn si le, zhè jiàn shì méi nà me fù zá.Don't rack your brains over it — this matter isn't that complicated.
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