伤脑筋

傷腦筋

shāngnǎojīn

phrase HSK 7 #19,228

Meanings

1 to be a headache; to be vexing
2 to rack one's brains

Characters

to hurt; to damage

Literally 'hurt the brains' — something so troublesome it damages your thinking.

Examples

这道数学题真让人伤脑筋。

Zhè dào shùxué tí zhēn ràng rén shāng nǎojīn.

This math problem is really a headache.

孩子的教育问题让父母很伤脑筋。

Háizi de jiàoyù wèntí ràng fùmǔ hěn shāng nǎojīn.

Children's education issues give parents a real headache.

Tips

grammar

伤脑筋 is a separable verb-object phrase. The object 脑筋 can be split: 伤了不少脑筋 (shāng le bùshǎo nǎojīn, 'racked quite a lot of brains'). It's often used with 让人 (ràng rén) or 令人 (lìng rén) — 'makes one...'

Stroke Order

伤 shāng

脑 nǎo

筋 jīn