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贪官污吏

tān guān wū lìdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
grasping officials, corrupt mandarins (idiom) / abuse and corruption
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-76683f8390f4d463. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

貪官污吏 贪官污吏 [tan1 guan1 wu1 li4] /grasping officials, corrupt mandarins (idiom); abuse and corruption/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 貪官污吏

  • 贪
    tān

    to have a voracious desire for / to covet / greedy / corrupt

  • 官
    guān

    government official / governmental / official / public / organ of the body / CL:個|个[gè]

    Guān

    surname Guan

  • 污
    wū

    dirty / filthy / foul / corrupt / to smear / to defile / dirt / filth

  • 吏
    lì

    minor government official or functionary (old)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.