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人浮于事

rén fú yú shìdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
more hands than needed (idiom) / too many cooks spoil the broth
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-9761b81368715eff. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

人浮於事 人浮于事 [ren2 fu2 yu2 shi4] /more hands than needed (idiom); too many cooks spoil the broth/

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.

Other forms in these source records: 人浮於事

  • 人
  • 浮
    fú

    to float / superficial / floating / unstable / movable / provisional / temporary / transient / impetuous / hollow / inflated / to exceed / superfluous / excessive / surplus

  • 于
    yú

    to go / to take / sentence-final interrogative particle / (of time or place) in / at / on / (indicating any indirect relation) to / toward / vis-à-vis / with regard to / for / (indicating a source) from / out of / (used in comparison) than / (used in the passive voice) by

    Yú

    surname Yu

  • 事
    shì

    matter / thing / item / work / affair / CL:件[jiàn],樁|桩[zhuāng],回[huí]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.