Definition
脑筋 primarily refers to 'brains' or 'mind' — your thinking ability and intellectual capacity. It appears in two common fixed expressions you'll hear often: 动脑筋 (dòng nǎo jīn, 'to use your brains / to think hard about a problem') and 伤脑筋 (shāng nǎo jīn, 'to give someone a headache / to be a real headache'). These are collocational patterns you can't predict from the bare gloss, so memorizing them as chunks is essential.
n.
brainsmind — intellectual capacity and mental sharpnessway of thinkingideas
Examples
- 脑筋，。Tā nǎo jīn hěn línghuó, zǒng néng xiǎng chū hǎo bànfǎ.He's very sharp-minded and always comes up with good solutions.
- ，。Zhè dào tí tài nán le, dàjiā lái dòng dòng nǎo jīn.This question is too hard — everyone put your thinking caps on.
- 。Zhèxiē suǒshì zhēn ràng rén shāng nǎo jīn.These trivial matters are really a headache.
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