人浮于事

人浮於事

rénfúyúshì

idiom

Meanings

1 more hands than needed
2 overstaffed; too many people for too little work

Characters

to exceed; be in surplus

than; compared to

Examples

HSK 5

改革的目的之一是解决人浮于事的问题。

Gǎigé de mùdì zhīyī shì jiějué rénfúyúshì de wèntí.

One aim of the reform is to fix the problem of having more workers than work.

HSK 7-9

这个部门人浮于事，效率低下。

Zhège bùmén rénfúyúshì, xiàolǜ dīxià.

This department is overstaffed and its efficiency is poor.

Tips

history

From 《礼记·坊记》: a gentleman would rather his salary fall short of his work than his work fall short of his salary. 人浮于食 ('people outweigh their rations') was later recast as 人浮于事 - people outweighing their jobs.

mistakes

The 浮 here means 'to exceed; to outstrip', not 'to float'. Think 'surplus' not 'buoyant'.

Stroke Order

人 rén

浮 fú

于 yú

事 shì