中饱私囊 (zhōng bǎo sī náng) — to embezzle public funds; to line one's own pockets with misappropriated money

Definition

A formal, written idiom for an official or insider who pockets public money — strongly negative, used in news, reports, and legal contexts, not in casual speech.

idiom
to embezzle public fundsto line one's own pockets with misappropriated money

Examples

  • 中饱私囊。
    Nà ge guān yuán yīn wèi zhōng bǎo sī náng bèi diào chá le.
    That official is under investigation for embezzling public funds.
  • 中饱私囊，。
    Tā lì yòng zhí quán zhōng bǎo sī náng, zuì hòu láng dāng rù yù.
    He used his authority to line his own pockets, and ended up in prison.
  • ，中饱私囊。
    Gōng sī zhàng mù yǒu wèn tí, huái yí yǒu rén zhōng bǎo sī náng.
    There's something wrong with the company's accounts; someone is suspected of embezzlement.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飽; 饱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shífood
Sound part声符shēngfú
包
包bāo飽bǎo
Same sound today

The traditional form 飽 uses 食 to mark food/eating and 包 for the sound.

Open 饱 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
厶
厶sī私sī
Same sound today

私 combines 禾 and 厶; 厶 originally represented the word, and 禾 was added later.

Open 私 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
㯻㯻㯻bag
Sound part声符shēngfú
襄
襄xiāng囊náng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

囊 is made from 㯻, a tied bag with items inside, plus an abbreviated form of 襄 that gives the sound.

Open 囊 →

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