Meaning:

    “脑” means “brains,” and “补” means to “supplement.” Originating from Japanese anime, this term means to fantasize things according to one’s own wishes, concerning either plots in fiction or happenings in real life. Chinese netizens have accepted the term in a more general sense which is similar to “imagining.”

    Example:

    A: 你昨天和谁去逛街了？

    Nǐ zuótiān hé shuí qù guàngjiē le?

    Who did you go shopping with?

    B: 小黄。

    Xiǎohuáng。

    Huang.

    A: 那个戴眼镜的男孩吗？

    Nà gè dài yǎnjìng de nánhái ma?

    You mean the boy wearing glasses?

    B: 是啊。你一定不知道他的神奇能力。每次和女生一起逛街，不用试，随手拿起一条裙子一双鞋，他都能立刻脑补出她穿上之后的样子。

    Shì a。Nǐ yīdìng bù zhīdào tā de shénqí nénglì。Měicì hé nǚshēng yīqǐ guàngjiē, bùyòng shì, suíshǒu náqǐ yītiáo qúnzi yīshuāng xié, tā dōu néng lìkè nǎobǔ chū tā chuānshàng zhīhòu de yàngzi。

    Yup. Certainly you don’t know his magic power. Each time he goes shopping with a girl, he can immediately imagine how she looks in a dress or a pair of shoes before she actually tries them on.

    A: 那可真是省时省力。

    Nà kě zhēnshì shěngshí shěnglì。

    That’s really time and energy saving.