Chinese word

伤脑筋

Pronunciation

Pinyinshāng nǎo jīn

Meaning

  • adjectivetroublesome

Example

这个问题真伤脑筋。zhè ge wèn tí zhēn shāng nǎo jīn

This problem is really troublesome.

Illustration for 伤脑筋 (troublesome)

More examples

这个程序的错误让程序员一天都感到伤脑筋。zhè ge chéng xù de cuò wù ràng chéng xù yuán yì tiān dōu gǎn dào shāng nǎo jīn

The error in this program gave the programmer a headache all day.

Core concept

A problem that strains mental energy and feels difficult to handle.

Common phrases

  • 越想越伤脑筋yuè xiǎng yuè shāng nǎo jīn

    become more troublesome the more one thinks about it

  • 把事情弄得伤脑筋bǎ shì qíng nòng de shāng nǎo jīn

    make the matter troublesome

Similar words

麻烦má fán: Creating extra work or inconvenience and making a task bothersome to deal with.
棘手jí shǒu: Difficult to handle or solve and requiring careful treatment.
费劲fèi jìn: Requiring much effort or time to complete.
困难kùn nán: Difficult to achieve or solve, with no easy way forward.

Definition in Chinese

表示某事令人烦恼、费神或使人头疼，多用于日常对话。biǎo shì mǒu shì lìng rén fán nǎo fèi shén huò shǐ rén tóu téng duō yòng yú rì cháng duì huà

Word origin

In 伤 (shāng, "hurt") + 脑 (nǎo, "brain") + 筋 (jīn, "sinew"), the literal image of hurting the brain's sinews develops into the idea of a problem that causes mental strain.

Usage tips

  • In conversation, it can describe a problem before a noun or comment on a situation by itself, making it useful for natural everyday speech.

Other meanings

  • rack one's brainsverb
  • a headacheadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word