挖 空 心 思

wā kōng xīn sidictionary entry

to dig for thoughts (idiom) / to search everything for an answer / to rack one's brains

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-6024b8461b1900b5. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

挖空心思 挖空心思 [wa1 kong1 xin1 si5] /to dig for thoughts (idiom); to search everything for an answer/to rack one's brains/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

挖
wā
to dig / to excavate / to scoop out
空
kōng
empty / air / sky / in vain
kòng
to empty / vacant / unoccupied / space / leisure / free time
心
xīn
heart / mind / intention / center / core / CL:顆|颗[kē],個|个[gè]
思
sī
to think / to consider

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.