脑汁 (nǎo zhī) — (figurative) brains, mental effort (primarily used in the idiom 绞尽脑汁)

Definition

脑汁 literally means 'brain fluid' and is almost only used in the idiom 绞尽脑汁 ('rack one's brains').

noun
(figurative) brainsmental effort (primarily used in the idiom 绞尽脑汁)

Examples

  • 脑汁。
    Tā jiǎo jìn le nǎo zhī yě xiǎng bù chū bàn fǎ.
    He racked his brains but couldn't come up with a solution.
  • ，。
    Wèi le wán chéng zhè ge xiàng mù, wǒ jiǎo jìn nǎo zhī.
    I racked my brains to finish this project.
  • 。
    Nǐ jiǎo jìn nǎo zhī yě cāi bú dào dá àn.
    You could rack your brains and still not guess the answer.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

脑nǎobrain
汁zhījuice

脑 is brain and 汁 is juice, so the word pictures brain juice as mental effort.

Characters in this word

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 →

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