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.

Origin

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 挖 →

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
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
囟
囟xìn思sī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 思, 心 (heart) points to thinking, while the top part is a changed form of 囟, which supplied the sound.

Open 思 →

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