炮灰

pàohuī

noun #28,462

Meanings

HSK 6

那些普通士兵不过是战争中的炮灰。

Nàxiē pǔtōng shìbīng bùguò shì zhànzhēng zhōng de pàohuī.

Those ordinary soldiers were nothing more than cannon fodder in the war.

HSK 7-9

在这场政治斗争中，他沦为了别人的炮灰。

Zài zhè chǎng zhèngzhì dòuzhēng zhōng, tā lúnwéi le biérén de pàohuī.

In this political struggle, he became someone else's cannon fodder.

memory

炮 is 'cannon' and 灰 is 'ash/dust', so 炮灰 literally means 'cannon ash', the remains left after being blasted. A vivid metaphor for expendable people.

炮 pào

灰 huī