Meaning:

    “烧” means to “burn,” and “脑” means “brains.” Literally meaning to “burn one’s brains,” this is a fancy term used by Chinese netizens to mean “racking one’s brains.” Therefore, “烧脑片” (literally, a brain-burning film) is a movie that requires a lot of thinking to appreciate, and “烧脑族” (literally, brain-burning people) are those who like to use their brains to figure things out.

    Example:

    A: 有什么好电影推荐？最好是烧脑片。

    Yǒu shénme hǎo diànyǐng tuījiàn？ Zuìhǎo shì shāonǎopiān。

    Do you have any movie to recommend? It had better be difficult to follow.

    B: 你看过《禁闭岛》吗？这个应该对你胃口。

    Nǐ kànguò 《jìnbìdǎo》 ma？ Zhège yīnggāi duì nǐ wèikǒu。

    Have you seen “Shutter Island?” This one must be your cup of tea.

    A: 谁演的？

    Shuí yǎn de？

    Who is in it?

    B: 莱昂纳多·迪卡普里奥。

    Lái’ángnàduō díkǎpǔlǐ’ào。

    Leonardo DiCaprio.

    A: 我喜欢他，一定要找来看看。

    Wǒ xǐhuān tā, yīdìng yào zhǎo lái kànkàn。

    I like him. I definitely want to see it.