📖 Meaning
A self-deprecating expression meaning to merely hold a post without being qualified or able to fulfill one's duties. "备位" means occupying a position in name only without performing its work, while "充数" means making up a required number with someone inadequate. It is used humbly to downplay one's own contribution.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase combines two classical allusions. "备位" appears in the Book of Han (汉书), where the minister Xiao Wangzhi remarked that he had served as a general and statesman despite being over sixty years old. "充数" is drawn from the Annals of Yanzi (晏子春秋), in which a woman from the city outskirts asked to be admitted among the lower household of Minister Yanzi to make up the numbers. Together they form a modest phrase expressing that one merely fills a slot without true merit.
💡 Example Usage
我只是备位充数，真正出力的是各位同仁。
I merely fill a post to make up the numbers; the real work is done by my colleagues.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 备位充数
- Pinyin: bèi wèi chōng shù
- Literal Translation: occupy a position, fill a number
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4