Chinese word

脑筋

Pronunciation

Pinyinnǎo jīn

Meaning

  • nounquick thinking

Example

遇到麻烦时，他的脑筋总是转得很快。yù dào má fán shí tā de nǎo jīn zǒng shì zhuǎn de hěn kuài

When he runs into trouble, he always thinks quickly.

Illustration for 脑筋 (quick thinking)

More examples

讨论卡住时，老师提醒我们要多动动脑筋寻找新思路。tǎo lùn kǎ zhù shí lǎo shī tí xǐng wǒ men yào duō dòng dòng nǎo jīn xún zhǎo xīn sī lù

When the discussion gets stuck, the teacher reminds us to use our brains more to find new ideas.

Core concept

A mind that quickly finds a workable path through a problem.

Common phrases

  • 动脑筋dòng nǎo jīn

    use one's brains

  • 动动脑筋dòng dòng nǎo jīn

    use one's brains a little

Similar words

头脑tóu nǎo: The mental power to understand things, think them through, and make sound judgments.
机智jī zhì: The wit to react quickly and handle an unexpected situation cleverly.
应变能力yìng biàn néng lì: The ability to adjust quickly and deal effectively with sudden changes or problems.
机灵jī líng: Quick awareness of what is happening, with the ability to handle things skillfully.

Definition in Chinese

口语中指能巧妙处理问题或临时想出主意的机智和头脑转速的名词。kóu yǔ zhōng zhǐ néng qiǎo miào chù lǐ wèn tí huò lín shí xiǎng chū zhǔ yì de jī zhì hé tóu nǎo zhuàn sù de míng cí

Word origin

脑筋 (nǎojīn, "brain") combines 脑 (nǎo, "brain") + 筋 (jīn, "sinew") to picture the brain's working power, giving the word its sense of mental agility.

Usage tips

  • In conversational Chinese, this word can praise practical mental agility rather than intelligence shown only through school knowledge.

Other meanings

  • witnoun

Related words

  • 动脑筋dòng nǎo jīnuse one's brainsverb

Word lists with this word