以次充好
yǐ cì chōng hǎo
to pass off inferior goods as good ones
Character by character
以yǐ
use
use
次cì
inferior
inferior
充chōng
pass as
pass as
好hǎo
good
good
Example
有的商家以次充好，把旧米掺在新米里卖。
Some traders pass off old rice as new by mixing it in with the fresh crop.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
A term from consumer law and market inspections, often in the same breath as 以假充真 (passing off fakes as genuine). 次 is the 次 of 次品: second-rate.
Learn this in Lesson 118 · HSK 7–9: 土坑酸菜 (Exposé: the pickled-cabbage pits)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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