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绞尽脑汁 (jiǎo jìn nǎo zhī) — to rack one's brains; to think hard; to cudgel one's brains

Definition

A vivid chengyu meaning 'to rack one's brains' — emphasizes exhausting every bit of mental effort, stronger than simply 想办法 or 用心思考.

verb
to rack one's brainsto think hardto cudgel one's brains

Examples

  • ，绞尽脑汁。
    Wèi le jiě jué zhè ge jì shù nán tí, zhěng gè tuán duì jiǎo jìn nǎo zhī xiǎng le sān tiān sān yè.
    To solve this technical problem, the entire team racked their brains for three days and nights.
  • 绞尽脑汁。
    Tā jiǎo jìn nǎo zhī xiě chū le yì piān fēi cháng jīng cǎi de lùn wén.
    He racked his brains and wrote a brilliant paper.
  • ，绞尽脑汁。
    Lǎo shī de wèn tí tài diāo zuān le, xué shēng men gè gè jiǎo jìn nǎo zhī hái shì dá bú shàng lái.
    The teacher's question was so tricky that every student racked their brains and still couldn't answer.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 絞; 绞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
交
交jiāo絞jiǎo
Same sound today

The traditional form 絞 pairs 糸 (thread) with 交 as the sound part; the simplified 绞 is a later abbreviation.

Open 绞 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

  • 聿聿yùhand holding a brush
  • 灬灬huǒbristles
  • 皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 腦; 脑 is its simplified writing.

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 巛巛chuānhair
  • 囟囟xìnhead; fontanel

In the traditional form 腦, the older part 匕 was replaced by a flesh part, while 巛 (hair) and 囟 (head; fontanel) stayed. The simplified 脑 is a later abbreviation.

Open 脑 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
十
十shí汁zhī(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

汁 has 氵, a form of 水, on the left and 十 on the right. The water part shows it is about a liquid, and 十 gives the sound.

Open 汁 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesThinking & Cognition

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