officialese; red tape; empty formalities
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
empty formalities; officialese; red tape
formalCriticizes bureaucratic writing or speech that is verbose, formulaic, and lacks substance, serving only for show or to follow procedure.
Zhè这
fèn份
bào报
gào告
chōng充
mǎn满
le了
guān官
yàng样
wén文
zhāng章
，
méi没
yǒu有
rèn任
hé何
shí实
jì际
jiàn建
yì议
。
This report is full of empty formalities without any practical suggestions.
Lǐng领
dǎo导
men们
de的
jiǎng讲
huà话
quán全
shì是
guān官
yàng样
wén文
zhāng章
，
wǒ我
men们
tīng听
dé得
hūn昏
hūn昏
yù欲
shuì睡
。
The leaders' speeches were all bureaucratic jargon that made us drowsy.
Show 1 more exampleShow fewer examples
Wǒ我
men们
xū需
yào要
de的
shì是
jù具
tǐ体
xíng行
dòng动
，
bù不
shì是
zhè这
xiē些
guān官
yàng样
wén文
zhāng章
。
What we need is concrete action, not these empty formalities.