Definition
炮灰 literally means 'cannon ash' — the remains of soldiers blown apart by cannon fire. In modern Chinese it is a metaphor for expendable people who are sent to die or take the blame for a larger cause, such as soldiers in a hopeless battle, scapegoats in workplace politics, or disposable units in video games. The English equivalent 'cannon fodder' has a similar range. Note: the standard pinyin for this word is pào huī, but the source file lists 'bāo' — this is likely a reading error; the colloquial reading is always pào huī, not bāo.
n.
cannon fodder (people sacrificed for a larger cause, often in war or competition)
Examples
- 炮灰。Nàxiē xīnbīng zài qiánxiàn chéng le bāo.Those new recruits became cannon fodder on the front line.
- ，炮灰。Zài zhè jiā gōngsī lǐ, dǐcéng yuángōng búguò shì bāo.In this company, low-level employees are nothing more than cannon fodder.
- 炮灰。Yóuxì lǐ de xiǎobīng dōu shì gěi wánjiā sòng jīngyàn de bāo.The grunts in the game are all cannon fodder for players to gain experience.
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