滥竽充数 / 濫竽充數

làn​yú​chōng​shù

to make up the numbers

Literally meaning to play the [[竽|竽|yu2]] mouth organ just to fill a seat; used to describe someone without real talent who hides among experts, or inferior goods passed off as quality products; also used as a humble expression regarding one's own abilities.

滥 (literal) → 滥/濫 · làn · excessive; indiscriminate 竽 (literal) → 竽 · yú · yu 充 (literal) → 充 · chōng · to pretend 数 (literal) → 数/數 · shù · number

Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

created sense May 20, 2026, 07:57 PM