私相授受

sīxiāng-shòushòu

idiom

Meanings

1 to give and receive privately (often improperly)
2 to transfer something under the table

Characters

private; secret

mutually; each other

to give; to hand over

to receive; to accept

Examples

HSK 7-9

公物不能私相授受。

Gōngwù bùnéng sīxiāng-shòushòu.

Public property cannot be privately handed over between individuals.

HSK 7-9

这笔款项竟被他们私相授受，完全绕开了监管。

Zhè bǐ kuǎnxiàng jìng bèi tāmen sīxiāng-shòushòu, wánquán ràokāi le jiānguǎn.

This sum of money was exchanged between them privately, completely bypassing oversight.

HSK 7-9

公司规定禁止员工之间私相授受礼品。

Gōngsī guīdìng jìnzhǐ yuángōng zhījiān sīxiāng-shòushòu lǐpǐn.

Company policy forbids employees from privately exchanging gifts.

Tips

history

Cited in the late-Ming writer 钱谦益's essay collection 《牧斋初学集》, on land-title abuse: imperially granted land 'must not be privately transferred (私相授受)' between parties. The phrase has carried that whiff of illegitimate off-the-books handover ever since.

register

Formal, disapproving. Common in legal, journalistic, and compliance contexts when describing unauthorized transfers of property, authority, or influence.

Stroke Order

私 sī

相 xiāng

授 shòu

受 shòu