滥竽充数

濫竽充數

lànyúchōngshù

idiom #43,104

Meanings

1 to fake playing the yu-pipe to fill out the numbers
2 to pass oneself off as qualified; to be a fraud in a crowd

Characters

false; spurious

yu (ancient bamboo wind instrument)

to fill; to pass for

Examples

他根本不会唱歌，只是在合唱团里滥竽充数。

Tā gēnběn bù huì chànggē, zhǐshì zài héchàngtuán lǐ lànyúchōngshù.

He can't actually sing — he's just faking it to fill a spot in the choir.

我对这个领域不熟，今天只能滥竽充数了。

Wǒ duì zhège lǐngyù bù shú, jīntiān zhǐ néng lànyúchōngshù le.

I'm not familiar with this field; today I'm afraid I'm just here to make up the numbers.

Tips

history

From 《韩非子》: King Xuan of Qi loved hearing 300 musicians play the yu (a bamboo pipe) at once. A fraud named Nan Guo joined and faked playing for years. When the new king King Min insisted on hearing each musician individually, Nan Guo fled.

usage

Often used self-deprecatingly to humbly downplay one's qualifications in a group ('I'm just here to fill a seat'). When applied to someone else, it accuses them of being unqualified.

Stroke Order

滥 làn

竽 yú

充 chōng

数 shù