gun1 lei6官吏

Jyutpinggun1 lei6

Yalegūn leih

名詞

Definition

Officials and civil servants.

writtenpeopleother

How it's used

This term is almost exclusively used to describe historical figures or officials in a literary or period drama context. It sounds very stiff and archaic when applied to modern civil servants, who are referred to as 公務員. Using it for contemporary government staff will make you sound like you are speaking in a historical novel.

Measure word

go3個go

Examples

gu2古doi6代di1啲gun1官lei6吏hou2好zung1鍾ji3意taam1貪wu1污。

Officials in ancient times loved to be corrupt.

nei5你gin3見gwo3過go2嗰di1啲gun1官lei6吏mei6未aa4呀？

Have you seen those officials yet?

Common phrases

taam1貪gun1官wu1污lei6吏

corrupt officials

Common mistake

Avoid using this to refer to modern government employees, as it carries a strong connotation of feudal bureaucracy or corruption. Use 公務員 instead for current civil servants.