📖 Meaning
To think deeply and search painfully; to rack one's brains pondering a problem. It describes the intense mental effort of repeatedly turning a question over in one's mind until a solution emerges.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Ming dynasty scholar Hu Yinglin's work 'Shi Sou · Waibian Er' (Poetry Compendium, Outer Section 2). Hu Yinglin observed that many of the celebrated verses by the renowned Southern Dynasties landscape poet Xie Lingyun did not come effortlessly, but rather emerged from deep and painstaking contemplation. The remark highlights that literary brilliance often rests on arduous intellectual labor rather than pure spontaneous talent.
💡 Example Usage
面对这道数学难题，他深思苦索了整整一个下午，终于找到了解法。
Facing this difficult math problem, he racked his brains for an entire afternoon before finally finding a solution.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 深思苦索
- Pinyin: shēn sī kǔ suǒ
- Literal Translation: deep, think, bitter, search
- Category: Logic
- Characters: 4