<p>Usually the word has some negative connotations. But at some times, it can be equivalent to &quot;老实人&quot;. Because &quot;老实人&quot; will do things very straight, like &quot;缺根筋&quot;。</p>
<p>In terms of the original negative connotation, we find that the &quot;经&quot; in &quot;发神经&quot; sounds close to the &quot;筋&quot; in &quot;缺根筋&quot;, which leads to an association between the two short sentences, in other words, there are similarities in the meanings between them, so in a certain context, &quot;发神经&quot; can be equated with &quot;缺根筋&quot;. But it must be pointed out that the emotional overtones of &quot;发神经&quot; are more serious, because it is too direct.</p>
<p>In traditional Chinese culture, i.e. in traditional Chinese medicine, &quot;筋脉&quot; are an important concept, and sometimes we can understand them as a collection of neurons, but we can never directly equate the two. &quot;筋&quot; is a real thing, and there is no direct evidence of its existence in &quot;脉&quot; at present. &quot;筋&quot; correspond to the control of a muscle in the human body, associated with other muscles or fascia, etc. Therefore, the &quot;缺根筋&quot; can be regarded as a person who loses control of the &quot;muscle&quot; of the brain at the level of consciousness. We can have several different descriptions of this: first, it is considered to be a condition, i.e., &quot;脑子有病&quot;, second, it is believed that it is because something has hit the person's head, and the person's head is showing swelling, i.e., &quot;脑子有包&quot; or &quot;脑子有泡&quot;, and third, it is believed that the &quot;筋&quot; in it have been removed, that is, &quot;脑子抽筋&quot;。</p>
<p>The above does not necessarily refer to madness, if you want to refer to madness, there is an allusion, which is &quot;范进中举&quot;, which comes from the Chinese literary novel &quot;儒林外史&quot;. Moreover, the rational use of this allusion can achieve some good effects, such as “中举的范进们，不是哪个个人，不是哪个群体，而是那些发展着的而又衰落着的封建王朝。它们那少数人的盛世，疯狂了伟丽宫城之外的穷苦的农民们。” The satire of the feudal system in the allusion is used here, or “那仿若范进模样的人狂笑在路上”, and here the crazy image of Fan Jin when he is just lifted in the allusion can be regarded as a metaphor.</p>
<p>Since I am not a native English speaker and I am not very good at learning English (;D) Therefore, the machine translation used in the English part of the above content may be biased.还请见谅。</p>
<p>I hope that my answer can be thought useful for you. :D
The original text in Chinese is attached.</p>
<p>通常来讲，该短语多少带有些许的负面色彩。但是在一些语境下，它可以被等价为”老实人“。因为”老实人“总是做事情很直，就像是”缺根筋“。</p>
<p>就原本的负面意来看，我们发现”发神经“中的”经“音近”缺根筋“中的”筋“，这导致了这两个短句之间存在一定的联想关系，换而言之，这两者之间含义相近，所以在一定的语境下，”发神经“可以等价为”缺根筋“。但必须指出的是，”发神经“的含义的情绪色彩更为严重，因为它太直接了。</p>
<p>在中国传统文化中，即在中医学中，”筋脉“是一个很重要的概念，有时我们可以将其理解为神经元的集合，但绝不可以简单地将二者等之。”筋“是实在的，而”脉“则目前尚无证据直接证明其的存在。”筋，肉之力也“，其可视为对一块肌肉产生控制的相关的肌肉或筋膜等。而以此，“缺根筋”可理解为在意识层面上，一个人失去了对其大脑的“肌肉”的控制。又因此，我们可以有如下几种描述：一，这是一种病症导致的，即“脑子有病”；二，这是因有外物冲击了当事人的头部，且当事人头部呈现出一定的鼓起，即“脑子有包”或者“脑子有泡”；第三，理解为“筋”被移除了，即“脑子抽筋”。</p>
<p>以上的几种并不一定说指疯狂，如果要指疯狂意，则有一个典故，是“范进中举”，该典故来自于中国文言文小说《儒林外史》。而且，合理使用该典故可以达到一些不错的效果，例如“中举的范进们，不是哪个个人，不是哪个群体，而是那些发展着的而又衰落着的封建王朝。它们那少数人的盛世，疯狂了伟丽宫城之外的穷苦的农民。”此处使用了典故中的对封建制度的讽刺，或者“那仿若范进模样的人狂笑在路上”，此处则使用了典故中，范进刚中举时的疯狂形象，可以认为是比喻。</p>
<p>由于本人并非英语母语者，并且英语学得还不是很好（;D）所以以上内容的英文部分采用的机器翻译，可能存在一定的偏差。还请见谅。</p>
<p>希望我的回答可以对你有所帮助。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-24T19:31:40.063Z
Ok, everyone has good responses and they all work! But yours was most informative and even 涉及到了中医学！thank you all for the informative responses!
Monokuma
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-25T02:14:40.903Z
[link]https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/56701/what-is-the-chinese-equivalent-of-a-few-loose-screws) I found that it is also necessary to correct a point, "抽筋" in Chinese can refer to the irregular contraction of muscles, and sometimes refers to the loss of "筋" such as "抽筋剥骨". :D @Monokuma
Ro Ruan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-25T02:33:45.187Z
Yes that is very true! Like I always say 抽筋了 when I feel that my leg is twisted. It has one meaning of being twisted, and the other meaning of.... losing brain cell
Monokuma
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-25T02:58:49.767Z
Strictly speaking, "筋" do not correspond to brain cells, although the two have some similarities in function, but "losing brain cell" is also a good metaphor, very innovative. (That's how language evolves, right.) :D @Monokuma
Ro Ruan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-25T03:19:16.643Z
Wooo! Interesting! I just realized I mixed up the "经“ from "脑神经" with "筋" (tendon)! Thank you for clarifying or else I will keep making this awkward mistake!
Monokuma
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-25T03:55:10.570Z
These two books may be helpful in understanding individual words. （See link）@Monokuma https://1drv.ms/f/s!AnclEcjo2Prql0Ebs9FpDUMP65pM?e=IChh9F
Ro Ruan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-24T14:44:09.400Z
2024-02-24T14:44:09.400Z
Ro Ruan
<p>It depends on what you want to say.</p>
<p>SILLY - 脑子进水了. His head is full of water.</p>
<p>CRAZY - 发疯了. 歇斯底里 (hysteria).</p>
<p>MENTAL PROBLEM - 精神病, 精神错乱.</p>
<p>But, it is better not to say those words.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-24T18:34:44.140Z
进水了 is pretty commonly used! I think it'll fit as a adjective as well
Monokuma
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-24T15:02:09.783Z
2024-02-24T15:02:09.783Z
PdotWang
<p><a href="https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%B0%91%E6%A0%B9%E7%AD%8B/22475978" rel="nofollow noreferrer">缺根筋/ 少根筋</a> - missing a wire (in the brain)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>... 缺少思考问题的能力，做事不转弯</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>... Lack of ability to think about problems and unable to make a rational decision to change</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>... 所谓的缺根筋，是相对于大多数人而言，此人的做法比较另类</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>... Compared to most people, this person’s behavior is quite abnormal</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When someone acts irrationally all the time, normal people might deem him to have a screw loose (in his head). It would be 缺根筋 in Chinese</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>Only a person with a screw loose would think wrestling  a bear is fun</p>
<p>只有缺根筋的人才會認為與熊摔跤很有趣</p>
<ul>
<li>A few screws loose (actually insane) = 精神失常</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-24T18:33:50.543Z
缺根筋 is actually pretty close as a Chinese equivalent! Because 经 would be something like brain cells!
Monokuma
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-24T08:38:30.600Z
2024-02-24T08:54:23.890Z
2024-02-24T08:54:23.890Z
Tang Ho
<p>不食人間煙火 bù shí rénjiān yānhuǒ / buh shyr renjian ianhuoo (also 不吃,不沾....), an expression meaning that someone is out of touch with everyday reality, such as the need to have a job, to eat regular food etc (sometimes used in a derogatory sense of having a brain that is not quite right)</p>
<p>1 很多智商高的人不沾人间烟火，显得情商很低 Many people with high IQs have no contact with everyday realities, which manifests as low EQs</p>
<p>2 只可惜我们都不是不食人间烟火的仙女，我们是凡人，饿了要吃饭渴了要喝水的凡人。 Unfortunately, we aren't heavenly beings who need not concern themselves with earthly cares. We are down to earth human beings: when we are hungry, we need to eat; when thirsty, we need to drink</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-24T18:29:59.620Z
Wow! Very interesting
Monokuma
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-24T10:39:47.333Z
2024-02-25T03:32:36.427Z
2024-02-25T03:32:36.427Z
Robert MATTHEWS 馬學進
<p>I believe the phrase is &quot;a screw loose&quot;, unless the person concerned is acting completely insane, in which case I might say, &quot;He has more than one screw loose!&quot;</p>
<p>发疯</p>
<p>我总认为他是有点发疯了.<br />
I always thought he had a screw loose.</p>
<p>失魂落魄</p>
<p>他有些失魂落魄。<br />
He has a screw loose.</p>
<p>毛病</p>
<p>他一准是脑子出毛病了。<br />
He must have a screw loose.</p>
<p>他的精神有点毛病。<br />
He has a screw loose.</p>
<p>不太正常</p>
<p>他有点不太正常。<br />
He has a screw loose somewhere.</p>
<p>有点疯</p>
<p>我看你是有点疯了。<br />
You must have a screw loose!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-24T18:26:34.970Z
失魂落魄is a very good idiom! Also I think 毛病 is a great phrase for it too!
Monokuma
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-24T07:49:46.327Z
2024-02-24T07:49:46.327Z
Pedroski
<p>In Cantonese, there's the pretty close <a href="http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/644/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">黐線</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>crazy, to go haywire, idiot; nuts ... | Literally, (to have your electrical) wires touching, i.e. your brain has a short circuit</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(But this is not used in Mandarin.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-27T00:07:50.383Z
Interesting, although my knowledge is Cantonese is pretty bad, it reminds me of how in Fujianese, there is a term "癫脬". It is basically the equivalent of calling someone crazy.
Monokuma
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-26T09:41:08.097Z
2024-02-26T09:41:08.097Z
user103496
<p>Directly translated into Chinese would be “松了几颗螺丝”。</p>
<p>However, I am wondering if there's a better equivalent to it. Referring to someone who is a bit out of his mind (crazy). As it sounds odd when directly translated (直译). Plus, it is not a actual saying.</p>
<p>Are there any idiom(成语) or phrase(短语) for 「疯子」？</p>

<translation><word-choice><word><word-requests>
What is the Chinese equivalent of "a few loose screws"?
# What is the Chinese equivalent of "a few loose screws"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-02-24)

Directly translated into Chinese would be “松了几颗螺丝”。

However, I am wondering if there's a better equivalent to it. Referring to someone who is a bit out of his mind (crazy). As it sounds odd when directly translated (直译). Plus, it is not a actual saying.

Are there any idiom(成语) or phrase(短语) for 「疯子」？

**Tags:** translation, word-choice, word, word-requests


---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-02-24. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Usually the word has some negative connotations. But at some times, it can be equivalent to "老实人". Because "老实人" will do things very straight, like "缺根筋"。

In terms of the original negative connotation, we find that the "经" in "发神经" sounds close to the "筋" in "缺根筋", which leads to an association between the two short sentences, in other words, there are similarities in the meanings between them, so in a certain context, "发神经" can be equated with "缺根筋". But it must be pointed out that the emotional overtones of "发神经" are more serious, because it is too direct.

In traditional Chinese culture, i.e. in traditional Chinese medicine, "筋脉" are an important concept, and sometimes we can understand them as a collection of neurons, but we can never directly equate the two. "筋" is a real thing, and there is no direct evidence of its existence in "脉" at present. "筋" correspond to the control of a muscle in the human body, associated with other muscles or fascia, etc. Therefore, the "缺根筋" can be regarded as a person who loses control of the "muscle" of the brain at the level of consciousness. We can have several different descriptions of this: first, it is considered to be a condition, i.e., "脑子有病", second, it is believed that it is because something has hit the person's head, and the person's head is showing swelling, i.e., "脑子有包" or "脑子有泡", and third, it is believed that the "筋" in it have been removed, that is, "脑子抽筋"。

The above does not necessarily refer to madness, if you want to refer to madness, there is an allusion, which is "范进中举", which comes from the Chinese literary novel "儒林外史". Moreover, the rational use of this allusion can achieve some good effects, such as “中举的范进们，不是哪个个人，不是哪个群体，而是那些发展着的而又衰落着的封建王朝。它们那少数人的盛世，疯狂了伟丽宫城之外的穷苦的农民们。” The satire of the feudal system in the allusion is used here, or “那仿若范进模样的人狂笑在路上”, and here the crazy image of Fan Jin when he is just lifted in the allusion can be regarded as a metaphor.

Since I am not a native English speaker and I am not very good at learning English (;D) Therefore, the machine translation used in the English part of the above content may be biased.还请见谅。

I hope that my answer can be thought useful for you. :D
The original text in Chinese is attached.

通常来讲，该短语多少带有些许的负面色彩。但是在一些语境下，它可以被等价为”老实人“。因为”老实人“总是做事情很直，就像是”缺根筋“。

就原本的负面意来看，我们发现”发神经“中的”经“音近”缺根筋“中的”筋“，这导致了这两个短句之间存在一定的联想关系，换而言之，这两者之间含义相近，所以在一定的语境下，”发神经“可以等价为”缺根筋“。但必须指出的是，”发神经“的含义的情绪色彩更为严重，因为它太直接了。

在中国传统文化中，即在中医学中，”筋脉“是一个很重要的概念，有时我们可以将其理解为神经元的集合，但绝不可以简单地将二者等之。”筋“是实在的，而”脉“则目前尚无证据直接证明其的存在。”筋，肉之力也“，其可视为对一块肌肉产生控制的相关的肌肉或筋膜等。而以此，“缺根筋”可理解为在意识层面上，一个人失去了对其大脑的“肌肉”的控制。又因此，我们可以有如下几种描述：一，这是一种病症导致的，即“脑子有病”；二，这是因有外物冲击了当事人的头部，且当事人头部呈现出一定的鼓起，即“脑子有包”或者“脑子有泡”；第三，理解为“筋”被移除了，即“脑子抽筋”。

以上的几种并不一定说指疯狂，如果要指疯狂意，则有一个典故，是“范进中举”，该典故来自于中国文言文小说《儒林外史》。而且，合理使用该典故可以达到一些不错的效果，例如“中举的范进们，不是哪个个人，不是哪个群体，而是那些发展着的而又衰落着的封建王朝。它们那少数人的盛世，疯狂了伟丽宫城之外的穷苦的农民。”此处使用了典故中的对封建制度的讽刺，或者“那仿若范进模样的人狂笑在路上”，此处则使用了典故中，范进刚中举时的疯狂形象，可以认为是比喻。

由于本人并非英语母语者，并且英语学得还不是很好（;D）所以以上内容的英文部分采用的机器翻译，可能存在一定的偏差。还请见谅。

希望我的回答可以对你有所帮助。

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Ok, everyone has good responses and they all work! But yours was most informative and even 涉及到了中医学！thank you all for the informative responses!  
> **username_1**: [link]https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/56701/what-is-the-chinese-equivalent-of-a-few-loose-screws) I found that it is also necessary to correct a point, "抽筋" in Chinese can refer to the irregular contraction of muscles, and sometimes refers to the loss of "筋" such as "抽筋剥骨". :D @username_0  
> **username_0**: Yes that is very true! Like I always say 抽筋了 when I feel that my leg is twisted. It has one meaning of being twisted, and the other meaning of.... losing brain cell  
> **username_1**: Strictly speaking, "筋" do not correspond to brain cells, although the two have some similarities in function, but "losing brain cell" is also a good metaphor, very innovative. (That's how language evolves, right.) :D @username_0  
> **username_0**: Wooo! Interesting! I just realized I mixed up the "经“ from "脑神经" with "筋" (tendon)! Thank you for clarifying or else I will keep making this awkward mistake!  
> **username_1**: These two books may be helpful in understanding individual words. （See link）@username_0 https://1drv.ms/f/s!AnclEcjo2Prql0Ebs9FpDUMP65pM?e=IChh9F  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-02-24. Score: 2

It depends on what you want to say.

SILLY - 脑子进水了. His head is full of water.

CRAZY - 发疯了. 歇斯底里 (hysteria).

MENTAL PROBLEM - 精神病, 精神错乱.

But, it is better not to say those words.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 进水了 is pretty commonly used! I think it'll fit as a adjective as well  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-02-24. Score: 2

[缺根筋/ 少根筋](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%B0%91%E6%A0%B9%E7%AD%8B/22475978) - missing a wire (in the brain)

> ... 缺少思考问题的能力，做事不转弯

> ... Lack of ability to think about problems and unable to make a rational decision to change

> ... 所谓的缺根筋，是相对于大多数人而言，此人的做法比较另类

> ... Compared to most people, this person’s behavior is quite abnormal

When someone acts irrationally all the time, normal people might deem him to have a screw loose (in his head). It would be 缺根筋 in Chinese

Example:

Only a person with a screw loose would think wrestling a bear is fun

只有缺根筋的人才會認為與熊摔跤很有趣

* A few screws loose (actually insane) = 精神失常

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 缺根筋 is actually pretty close as a Chinese equivalent! Because 经 would be something like brain cells!  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2024-02-24. Score: 2

不食人間煙火 bù shí rénjiān yānhuǒ / buh shyr renjian ianhuoo (also 不吃,不沾....), an expression meaning that someone is out of touch with everyday reality, such as the need to have a job, to eat regular food etc (sometimes used in a derogatory sense of having a brain that is not quite right)

1 很多智商高的人不沾人间烟火，显得情商很低 Many people with high IQs have no contact with everyday realities, which manifests as low EQs

2 只可惜我们都不是不食人间烟火的仙女，我们是凡人，饿了要吃饭渴了要喝水的凡人。 Unfortunately, we aren't heavenly beings who need not concern themselves with earthly cares. We are down to earth human beings: when we are hungry, we need to eat; when thirsty, we need to drink

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Wow! Very interesting  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2024-02-24. Score: 1

I believe the phrase is "a screw loose", unless the person concerned is acting completely insane, in which case I might say, "He has more than one screw loose!"

发疯

我总认为他是有点发疯了.  
I always thought he had a screw loose.

失魂落魄

他有些失魂落魄。  
He has a screw loose.

毛病

他一准是脑子出毛病了。  
He must have a screw loose.

他的精神有点毛病。  
He has a screw loose.

不太正常

他有点不太正常。  
He has a screw loose somewhere.

有点疯

我看你是有点疯了。  
You must have a screw loose!

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 失魂落魄is a very good idiom! Also I think 毛病 is a great phrase for it too!  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2024-02-26. Score: 1

In Cantonese, there's the pretty close [黐線](http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/644/):

> crazy, to go haywire, idiot; nuts ... | Literally, (to have your electrical) wires touching, i.e. your brain has a short circuit

(But this is not used in Mandarin.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Interesting, although my knowledge is Cantonese is pretty bad, it reminds me of how in Fujianese, there is a term "癫脬". It is basically the equivalent of calling someone crazy.  

---

