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炮灰 (pào huī) — cannon fodder (people sacrificed for a larger cause, often in war or competition)

Definition

Literally 'cannon ash,' meaning people used up and thrown away by a bigger power — in war, in cutthroat workplaces, or even in online games. Carries a strongly negative, critical tone.

noun
cannon fodder (people sacrificed for a larger cause, often in war or competition)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 炮灰。
    Nà xiē xīn bīng zài qián xiàn chéng le pào huī.
    Those new recruits became cannon fodder on the front line.
  • ，炮灰。
    Zài zhè jiā gōng sī lǐ, dǐ céng yuán gōng bú guò shì pào huī.
    In this company, low-level employees are nothing more than cannon fodder.
  • 炮灰。
    Yóu xì lǐ de xiǎo bīng dōu shì gěi wán jiā sòng jīng yàn de pào huī.
    The grunts in the game are all cannon fodder for players to gain experience.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

炮pàocannon
灰huīash

炮 is cannon and 灰 is ash, originally suggesting remains after cannon fire, hence cannon fodder.

Characters in this word

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
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
包
包bāo炮pào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

炮 combines 火 and 包; 包 supplies the sound.

Open 炮 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

灰 shows 火 (fire) that can be touched by 又 (hand), meaning ash.

Open 灰 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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