How do you say “Rack your brain” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is romperse la cabeza, which literally means “to break one's head”. English speakers use rack your brain to mean to think very hard while trying to remember or solve something. A natural image for struggling to find an answer. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
romperse la cabeza
/romˈpeɾse la kaˈβesa/
- Literal meaning
- “to break one's head”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
96 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
Spanish makes the head work so hard it seems to break. The expression suits a puzzle, a difficult choice or an elusive memory.
“Me estoy rompiendo la cabeza” stresses the effort happening now. It does not mean you have found the answer, or that you are literally injured.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity3 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
I racked my brain trying to remember his name.
Spanish
Me rompí la cabeza intentando recordar su nombre.
English
We've been racking our brains over a name for the café.
Spanish
Llevamos un tiempo rompiéndonos la cabeza para encontrar un nombre para el café.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-09-19