抓耳挠腮 scratch one's ears and cheeks
Explanation
形容心里焦急，苦思冥想而找不到办法的样子。
Describes someone who is anxious and desperately looking for a solution but cannot find one.
Origin Story
话说唐僧师徒四人西天取经，路过一座大山，山脚下有一条湍急的河流，河水汹涌澎湃，难以渡过。悟空见状，眉头紧锁，抓耳挠腮，冥思苦想如何才能顺利渡过河流。八戒在一旁扇着扇子，看着悟空抓耳挠腮的样子，忍不住哈哈大笑。唐僧则闭目念经，静待悟空想出办法。悟空想了半天，终于灵机一动，他拔下一根毫毛，吹出一阵风，变成了一座浮桥，师徒四人顺利地渡过了河流，继续西天取经的旅程。
It is said that when Tang Sanzang and his four disciples went to the West to obtain scriptures, they passed a large mountain with a rushing river at the foot of the mountain. The river was so turbulent that it was difficult to cross. Seeing this, Wukong frowned, scratched his head, and pondered how to cross the river smoothly. Bajie fanned himself beside him, watching Wukong scratching his head, and couldn't help laughing. Tang Sanzang closed his eyes and chanted sutras, waiting for Wukong to come up with a solution. Wukong thought for a long time before he suddenly had a brilliant idea. He plucked out a hair, blew a gust of wind, transformed it into a floating bridge, and the four disciples crossed the river safely and continued their journey to the West to obtain scriptures.
Usage
用于形容人焦急、苦闷、不知所措的样子。
Used to describe someone who is anxious, upset, and helpless.
Examples
-
考试前夕，他抓耳挠腮，怎么也想不出答案。
kaoshi qianxi, ta zhua er nao sai, zenme ye xiang bu chu da'an。
On the eve of the exam, he scratched his head and couldn't think of the answer.
-
面对突如其来的难题，他抓耳挠腮，不知所措。
mian dui turu er lai de nan ti, ta zhua er nao sai, buzhi suo cuo。
Faced with a sudden problem, he scratched his head and didn't know what to do.
-
他抓耳挠腮地想了半天，终于想出了解决问题的办法。
ta zhua er nao sai de xiang le ban tian, zhongyu xiang chu le jiejue wenti de banfa。
He scratched his head for a long time before he finally came up with a solution to the problem.