敷衍塞责

敷衍塞責
fūyǎnsèzé
idiom #80,963

Meanings

  1. 1 to go through the motions
  2. 2 to perform one's duties perfunctorily
  3. 3 to half-heartedly fulfill a responsibility

Examples

Tā duìdài gōngzuò fū yǎn sè zé, cóng bù rènzhēn.
He goes through the motions at work, never taking it seriously.
Zhè fèn bàogào xiě de fū yǎn sè zé, gēnběn méiyǒu fēnxī.
This report was written perfunctorily, with no real analysis at all.
Duì qúnzhòng de yìjiàn bù néng fū yǎn sè zé.
Public feedback must not be handled half-heartedly.

Tips

mistakes
here reads sè (not sāi 'to stuff' or sài 'frontier'). = 'to fulfill a duty (just barely)'. Getting this tone wrong is a very common error.
register
Sharply critical — common in editorials, disciplinary notices, and workplace complaints. Avoid when you only mean 'casual' or 'relaxed'.

Stroke Order

yǎn
sāi