跑龙套 (pǎo lóng tào) — to play a minor role; to be a bit player (originally in opera, now figurative)

Definition

Examples

• 他在电影里只是演个跑龙套，只有几秒钟镜头。
  Tā zài diàn yǐng lǐ zhǐ shì yǎn gè pǎo lóng tào, zhǐ yǒu jǐ miǎo zhōng jìng tóu.
  He only plays a walk-on role in the movie, just a few seconds of screen time.
• 在这个项目里，我不过是个跑龙套，所有重要决策都不是我做的。
  Zài zhè ge xiàng mù lǐ, wǒ bú guò shì gè pǎo lóng tào, suǒ yǒu zhòng yào jué cè dōu bú shì wǒ zuò de.
  In this project, I'm just a bit player; none of the important decisions were made by me.
• 他不想一辈子当跑龙套，于是拼命工作争取升职。
  Tā bù xiǎng yí bèi zi dāng pǎo lóng tào, yú shì pīn mìng gōng zuò zhēng qǔ shēng zhí.
  He doesn't want to be a bit player his whole life, so he works hard to get a promotion.