贪官污吏

貪官污吏

tānguānwūlì

idiom #67,405

Meanings

1 corrupt officials
2 grasping officials and venal clerks

Characters

filthy, corrupt

Examples

老百姓最恨贪官污吏。

Lǎobǎixìng zuì hèn tānguān wūlì.

Ordinary people hate corrupt officials most of all.

反腐行动打掉了一大批贪官污吏。

Fǎnfǔ xíngdòng dǎdiào le yí dà pī tānguān wūlì.

The anti-corruption campaign brought down a large number of crooked officials.

Tips

usage

Always pejorative. 官 denotes higher-ranked officials; 吏 denotes minor clerks — the idiom sweeps up bureaucrats at every level.

Stroke Order

贪 tān

官 guān

污 wū

吏 lì