官吏 (guānlì): government official

Measure Word

一位官吏 wèi

Officials of all ranks.

Gǔdài de guānlì dàduō tōngguò kējǔ kǎoshì xuǎnbá.

Ancient officials were mostly selected through the imperial examination.

Fǔbài de guānlì zāodào le chéngfá.

The corrupt officials were punished.

usage

官吏 has a historical or literary flavor. In modern Chinese, 官员 or 公务员 are more commonly used for government officials.

history

官 referred to higher-ranking officials and 吏 to lower-ranking clerks. Together 官吏 covers all levels of government service.

官 guān

吏 lì