搜刮

sōuguā

verb #27,589

Meanings

1 to rake in (money)
2 to plunder
3 to exploit
4 to extort
5 to milk dry

Characters

to search; to seek out

to scrape; to fleece; to blow (of wind)

Examples

贪官搜刮了大量民脂民膏。

Tānguān sōuguāle dàliàng mínzhī míngāo.

The corrupt official plundered vast amounts of public wealth.

他们把村子里的粮食搜刮一空。

Tāmen bǎ cūnzi lǐ de liángshi sōuguā yī kōng.

They plundered all the food in the village.

Tips

usage

搜刮 has a strongly negative connotation — it implies forceful, greedy extraction of wealth from others, especially by those in power. Not used in neutral contexts.

Stroke Order

搜 sōu

刮 guā