贪官污吏

貪官污吏

tānguān-wūlì

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。

Fǎn fǔ xíngdòng dǎ diào le yí dàpī 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