Definition
后门 literally means the back door of a building. In everyday speech, it is far more common as a figurative term for using personal connections, bribery, or underhanded influence to gain unfair advantages in business, bureaucracy, or social situations — a concept central to Chinese discourse on corruption and guanxi (关系). The figurative sense is idiomatic and cannot be deduced from the literal meaning alone.
n.
back door (of a building)underhand influencepullbackdoor connections
Examples
- 后门。Zhège shāngdiàn de hòu mén zài yòubiān.This store's back door is on the right.
- 后门。Tā shì kào hòu mén cái jìn de nà jiā gōngsī.He only got into that company through backdoor connections.
- 。Hěn duō shì zǒu hòu mén fǎn'ér gèng máfan.Going through the back door actually makes many things more troublesome.
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