徇私枉法

xùnsī-wǎngfǎ

idiom #79,723

Meanings

1 to bend the law for personal ends (idiom)
2 to pervert justice for private gain
3 to favor relatives or associates at the law's expense

Characters

to comply with; cater to

private; personal

to twist; pervert

Examples

他因徇私枉法被革职查办。

Tā yīn xùnsī-wǎngfǎ bèi gézhí chábàn.

He was dismissed and investigated for perverting the law for personal gain.

法官必须公正，不能徇私枉法。

Fǎguān bìxū gōngzhèng, bùnéng xùnsī-wǎngfǎ.

A judge must be impartial and must not bend the law for personal ends.

任何徇私枉法的行为都会受到惩处。

Rènhé xùnsī-wǎngfǎ de xíngwéi dōu huì shòudào chéngchǔ.

Any act of perverting the law for private interest will be punished.

Tips

register

Formal and legal register. Appears in court judgments, anti-corruption reports, and news about disciplined officials. In casual speech people just say 走后门 or 包庇.

grammar

Structure: 徇私 (to act for private reasons) + 枉法 (to twist the law). 徇 here means 'to comply with, to submit to' - not the 殉 (to die for) sometimes written in error.

Stroke Order

徇 xùn

私 sī

枉 wǎng

法 fǎ