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敷衍 (fū yǎn) — to do something perfunctorily, to go through the motions; to get by or scrape along with minimal effort (e.g., barely enough food to last)

Definition

敷衍 means to do something half-heartedly, just to get by. Unlike 含糊 (an adjective for vague/careless attitude), 敷衍 is the verb for the action itself; it pairs with 了事 or a person to mean brushing them off.

verb
to do something perfunctorilyto go through the motionsto get by or scrape along with minimal effort (e.g., barely enough food to last)

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā zuò shì zǒng shì fū yǎn liǎo shì, cóng bú yòng xīn.
    He always does things perfunctorily and never puts his heart into it.
  • 敷衍，。
    Bié fū yǎn wǒ le, qǐng gěi wǒ yí gè míng què de dá fù.
    Don't just brush me off — please give me a clear answer.
  • 敷衍，。
    Zhè diǎn shí wù hái néng fū yǎn liǎng tiān, zhōu mò zài qù mǎi.
    This food can last a couple more days; we'll buy more on the weekend.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

敷fūspread
衍yǎnextend

敷 and 衍 both suggest spreading out, which gives the sense of doing something thinly or perfunctorily.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūhand with whip; action
Sound part声符shēngfú
尃
尃fū敷fū
Same sound today

敷 pairs 尃, giving its sound and the sense of distribute, with 攵, a hand with whip showing action.

Open 敷 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

衍 is made from 行, a path or way to move, and 水, water.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Attitudes & Opinions

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.