串通一气

串通一氣

chuàntōng-yíqì

idiom #48,768

Meanings

HSK 4

调查发现，几家公司串通一气，故意抬高了价格。

Diàochá fāxiàn, jǐ jiā gōngsī chuàntōng-yíqì, gùyì táigāo le jiàgé.

The investigation found that several companies had colluded to push up prices.

HSK 7-9

这两个人串通一气，骗走了老人的积蓄。

Zhè liǎng gè rén chuàntōng-yíqì, piànzǒu le lǎorén de jīxù.

The two of them colluded to swindle the old man out of his savings.

usage

Always negative: people secretly working together against someone else. 一气 here means "as one". Synonyms are 沆瀣一气, which is more literary, and 狼狈为奸.

串 chuàn

通 tōng

一 yī

气 qì