人浮于事 — “Personnel exceeding tasks”
人浮于事 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to a situation where there are too many people for the amount of work available; overstaffed or underworked due to excessive personnel”. Literally, “personnel exceeding tasks”.
人浮于事 Pronunciation and Pinyin
人浮于事 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 人浮于事
Origin and Story of 人浮于事
During the Western Han Dynasty, Dai Sheng, in his 'Liji' (Book of Rites), explored the relationship between talent and remuneration.
He explained that if a person's talent and contributions surpassed their allocated salary and position, it was akin to integrity.
Conversely, if one's salary and position exceeded their actual abilities and contributions, it was comparable to corruption.
Hence, a gentleman would rather have his own capabilities 'float above' his emolument, indicating his worth was greater than his pay, than have his emolument 'float above' his capabilities, implying he was overpaid for his actual worth.
Idioms Related to 人浮于事
Synonyms of 人浮于事
Antonyms of 人浮于事
More idioms starting with 人
- rén人yī一jǐ己bǎi百make hundredfold effort to catch up
- rén人dīng丁xīng兴wàng旺a flourishing and growing family
- rén人bù不wèi为jǐ己，，tiān天zhū诛dì地miè灭Heaven and Earth condemn the unselfish
- rén人bù不rén人，，guǐ鬼bù不guǐ鬼looking ghastly or grotesque
- rén人bù不kě可mào貌xiàng相Don't judge a person by appearance
- rén人bù不kě可mào貌xiàng相，，hǎi海shuǐ水bù不kě可dǒu斗liáng量Never judge a person by appearance
- rén人bù不fàn犯wǒ我，，wǒ我bù不fàn犯rén人I will not offend unless offended
- rén人bù不zhī知，，guǐ鬼bù不jué觉done in complete secrecy
- rén人bù不liáo聊shēng生people can't make a living
- rén人bù不zì自ān安people are feeling uneasy
- rén人shì世cāng沧sāng桑the vicissitudes of human life
- rén人zhōng中zhī之lóng龙an outstanding person
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Open the tool →Questions about 人浮于事
What does 人浮于事 mean?
人浮于事 (rén fú yú shì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to a situation where there are too many people for the amount of work available; overstaffed or underworked due to excessive personnel”.
How do you pronounce 人浮于事?
人浮于事 is pronounced rén fú yú shì in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 人浮于事 literally mean?
Literally, 人浮于事 means “personnel exceeding tasks”. It is used to mean “refers to a situation where there are too many people for the amount of work available; overstaffed or underworked due to excessive personnel”.
Where does 人浮于事 come from?
人浮于事 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 人浮于事?
浮：超过。原指人的才德高过所得俸禄的等级。后指工作中人员过多或人多事少。