巧 立 名 目

qiǎo lì míng mùdictionary entry

to fabricate excuses (idiom) / to concoct various items (e.g. to pad an expense account)

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-469abf911fe3adad. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

巧立名目 巧立名目 [qiao3 li4 ming2 mu4] /to fabricate excuses (idiom)/to concoct various items (e.g. to pad an expense account)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

巧
qiǎo
opportunely / coincidentally / as it happens / skillful / timely
立
lì
to stand / to set up / to establish / to lay down / to draw up / at once / immediately
Lì
surname Li
名
míng
name / noun (part of speech) / place (e.g. among winners) / famous / classifier for people
目
mù
eye / (literary) to look / to regard / eye (of a net) / mesh / mesh size / grit size (abbr. for 目數|目数[mù shù]) / item / section / list / catalogue / (taxonomy) order / name / title

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.