fū敷perfunctoryyǎn衍elaborateliǎo了finishshì事matter
To do something carelessly or perfunctorily; to skimp on the job.
Literal meaning
perfunctory (敷) — elaborate (衍) — finish (了) — matter (事)
Origin
A classical four-character phrase describing a careless or superficial approach to completing a task.
Examples
Tā他zhǐ只shì是fū敷yǎn衍liǎo了shì事de地wán完chéng成le了rèn任wù务，zhì质liàng量hěn很chà差。
He just completed the task perfunctorily, and the quality was very poor.
Wǒ我men们bù不néng能fū敷yǎn衍liǎo了shì事，bì必xū须rèn认zhēn真duì对dài待měi每yī一gè个xì细jié节。
We cannot be perfunctory; we must take every detail seriously.
Usage & nuances
Has a negative connotation, implying a lack of effort or care.
Learn idioms by speaking them
Idioms are most useful when they land in a real conversation. Practice them out loud in Kango — get instant feedback on tone and timing.
Download Kango on iOS