taam1 gun1 wu1 lei6貪官污吏贪官污吏
Jyutpingtaam1 gun1 wu1 lei6
Yaletāam gūn wū leih
Definition
Corrupt officials; untrustworthy government officers and civil servants.
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How it's used
This is a set idiom that carries a strong sense of moral condemnation. It is rarely used in casual conversation unless someone is expressing deep frustration or anger regarding political corruption. It functions as a collective noun rather than referring to a single individual.
Examples
These corrupt officials are really outrageous.
How is the government dealing with that group of corrupt officials?
Related words
Common phrases
to root out corrupt officials
Common mistake
Learners often try to use this to describe a single corrupt person, but it is a collective term for a group of corrupt officials. If you want to refer to just one person, use 貪官 instead.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
