脑补

腦補

nǎobǔ

verb

Meanings

1 to imagine; to fill in mentally
2 to make up a scenario in one's head
3 mental fan fiction

Characters

to supplement; to fill in

Literally 'brain supplement' — your brain fills in the gaps with imagination.

Examples

看到这张照片，我脑补了一整部电影。

Kàndào zhè zhāng zhàopiàn, wǒ nǎobǔ le yī zhěng bù diànyǐng.

Seeing this photo, I imagined an entire movie in my head.

别脑补了，事实没那么复杂。

Bié nǎobǔ le, shìshí méi nàme fùzá.

Stop imagining things — the truth isn't that complicated.

Tips

culture

Originated in anime/manga fan communities (ACG culture). Fans '脑补' scenes that weren't shown. Now widely used for any act of imagining or speculating beyond available information.

Stroke Order

脑 nǎo

补 bǔ