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炮灰

pàohuī
noun #28,462

Meanings

  1. 1 cannon fodder
  2. 2 expendable person

Examples

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.
在这场政治斗争中，他沦为了别人的炮灰。
Zài zhè chǎng zhèngzhì dòuzhēng zhōng, tā lún wéi le biérén de pàohuī.
In this political struggle, he became someone else's cannon fodder.

Tips

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.

Stroke Order

炮 pào
灰 huī