<p>It's a figurative speech. </p>

<p>Literally, 筋 is <strong>tendon</strong>, through which our brain controls our body parts, arms, fingers, legs, feet and etc. 根 is the measure word, like 一根，两根，...</p>

<p>The usage of 筋 can be extended. Imagine that there are thousands of "<em>tendons</em>" in our head that control every aspect of functionalities of our brain with regards to thinking and feelings. When we lost/missed one of them (少根筋 or 没那根筋), we would lose one of functionalities of our brain, which will cause that we behave differently from a normal person. So, 少根筋 or 没那根筋, depending on context, can mean someone <strong>either</strong> can not do something well, not have a knack for doing something <strong>or</strong> behaves odd, being insane. There is a slight difference between 少根筋 and 没那根筋. 少根筋 doesn't specify the aspect, which is why it's often been interpreted as <strong>odd or insane</strong>. Well, 没<strong>那</strong>根筋 has specified the particular aspect of <em>tendon</em>(our mindset) and it's often been interpreted as not having a knack for doing something. Usually, 没那根筋 is used when the context is clear about what aspect it refers to. </p>

<p>Here are some examples:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>他脑袋少根筋 // he behaves odd, silly and etc.</p>
  
  <p>我学不好数学, 我脑袋里面没有那根筋 // I can not do math well, because I don't have  a knack for it(I don't have that tendon in my head for math). (the aspect[数学] is clear in this context.)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>一根筋 means one only have one way to do something, do something in a clumsy way. Imagine one has only one "tendon"(mindset) in his brain to control everything. But it can have a positive meaning, because it can denote one's persistence and perseverance. For example:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>他做事情就一根筋 // he only stick to one approach/principle to do something. </p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-24T01:53:28.580Z
2018-07-24T08:15:34.067Z
2018-07-24T08:15:34.067Z
dan
<p>筋 means muscle or tendon. The 筋 in these phrases is short for <a href="http://www.zdic.net/c/1/8d/156073.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">脑筋</a>, which literally means "brain tendon", but is used to mean "(line of) thought" or "idea".</p>

<p>You can see examples of this word, in phrases like</p>

<ul>
<li>动脑筋: literally: "to move one's brain tendons", means: "to think hard"</li>
<li>伤脑筋: literally: "to hurt one's brain tendons", means: "a headache" (in the sense of difficult to think about)</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-23T23:32:54.800Z
2018-07-23T23:32:54.800Z
congusbongus
<p>First things first, 根 is quantifier for 筋。Therefore you are actually asking what does 筋 mean.</p>

<p>For your question, you are basically right, 筋 in oral Chinese, could mean mindset.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-23T22:33:39.063Z
2018-07-23T22:33:39.063Z
zyy
<p>The phrase I'm trying to understand is in fact '<strong>没那根筋</strong>', but I can't find the description for '<strong>根筋</strong>' in any dictionary.</p>

<p>The search result only came up with '<strong>一根筋</strong>' and '<strong>少根筋</strong>'. </p>

<p>If '<strong>一根筋</strong>' means one-track mind and '<strong>少根筋</strong>' means stupid (or perhaps lack of common sense), does '<strong>根筋</strong>' roughly mean idea/thought?</p>

<meaning-in-context><phrase-meaning>
What does '根筋' in '一根筋' and '少根筋' mean?
# What does '根筋' in '一根筋' and '少根筋' mean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-23)

The phrase I'm trying to understand is in fact '**没那根筋**', but I can't find the description for '**根筋**' in any dictionary.

The search result only came up with '**一根筋**' and '**少根筋**'.

If '**一根筋**' means one-track mind and '**少根筋**' means stupid (or perhaps lack of common sense), does '**根筋**' roughly mean idea/thought?

**Tags:** meaning-in-context, phrase-meaning


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-07-24. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

It's a figurative speech.

Literally, 筋 is **tendon**, through which our brain controls our body parts, arms, fingers, legs, feet and etc. 根 is the measure word, like 一根，两根，...

The usage of 筋 can be extended. Imagine that there are thousands of "*tendons*" in our head that control every aspect of functionalities of our brain with regards to thinking and feelings. When we lost/missed one of them (少根筋 or 没那根筋), we would lose one of functionalities of our brain, which will cause that we behave differently from a normal person. So, 少根筋 or 没那根筋, depending on context, can mean someone **either** can not do something well, not have a knack for doing something **or** behaves odd, being insane. There is a slight difference between 少根筋 and 没那根筋. 少根筋 doesn't specify the aspect, which is why it's often been interpreted as **odd or insane**. Well, 没**那**根筋 has specified the particular aspect of *tendon*(our mindset) and it's often been interpreted as not having a knack for doing something. Usually, 没那根筋 is used when the context is clear about what aspect it refers to.

Here are some examples:

> 他脑袋少根筋 // he behaves odd, silly and etc.
>
> 我学不好数学, 我脑袋里面没有那根筋 // I can not do math well, because I don't have a knack for it(I don't have that tendon in my head for math). (the aspect[数学] is clear in this context.)

一根筋 means one only have one way to do something, do something in a clumsy way. Imagine one has only one "tendon"(mindset) in his brain to control everything. But it can have a positive meaning, because it can denote one's persistence and perseverance. For example:

> 他做事情就一根筋 // he only stick to one approach/principle to do something.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2018-07-23. Score: 1

筋 means muscle or tendon. The 筋 in these phrases is short for [脑筋](http://www.zdic.net/c/1/8d/156073.htm), which literally means "brain tendon", but is used to mean "(line of) thought" or "idea".

You can see examples of this word, in phrases like

* 动脑筋: literally: "to move one's brain tendons", means: "to think hard"
* 伤脑筋: literally: "to hurt one's brain tendons", means: "a headache" (in the sense of difficult to think about)


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### Answer by username_3 on 2018-07-23. Score: 0

First things first, 根 is quantifier for 筋。Therefore you are actually asking what does 筋 mean.

For your question, you are basically right, 筋 in oral Chinese, could mean mindset.


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