贪官污吏 (tānguānwūlì): corrupt officials

Meanings

1 corrupt officials
2 grasping officials and venal clerks

Characters

贪

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

Related Words

贪污腐化 tānwūfǔhuà #82,140

corruption and moral degeneration / graft and dissolute living

官吏 guānlì HSK 7 #45,455

government official / bureaucrat (historical)

贪污 tānwū HSK 7 #14,420

to embezzle / corruption / graft

官官相护 guānguānxiānghù

officials shield one another / a cover-up among officials

贪婪 tānlán HSK 7 #5,285

greedy / avaricious / insatiable

官二代 guānèrdài

children of officials / second-generation officialdom

达官贵人 dáguānguìrén #45,663

high officials and nobles; VIPs / the rich and powerful

贪玩儿 tānwánr HSK 7

fond of play / playful / always wanting to have fun (rather than work)

贪睡 tānshuì

to sleep in; love sleeping / to oversleep (out of laziness)

军官 jūnguān HSK 7 #4,772

military officer / officer