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以权谋私

yǐ quán móu sī

to abuse power for personal gain

Character by character

以yǐ
use
权quán
power
谋móu
seek
私sī
private

Example

他因为以权谋私被撤职了。
He was removed from his post for abusing his power.

Tone: negative (criticism).

Usage and origin

Anti-corruption vocabulary, alongside 贪污受贿.

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