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告密 (gào mì) — to inform on someone, to betray a secret, to snitch

Definition

告密 is a negative-connotation verb: secretly reporting someone's wrongdoing to an authority, which is why it pairs with 向老师/向警方 and is usually framed as betrayal. Negative evaluations like 别随便告密 are common in usage.

verb
to inform on someoneto betray a secretto snitch

Examples

  • 告密。
    Tā cóng lái bú huì xiàng lǎo shī gào mì.
    He would never snitch to the teacher.
  • ，。
    Tā gào le péng you de mì, jié guǒ dà jiā dōu tǎo yàn tā.
    He snitched on a friend, and as a result everyone despises him.
  • 告密，。
    Bié suí biàn gào mì, xiān kǎo lǜ yí xià hòu guǒ.
    Don't snitch casually; first consider the consequences.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

告gàoreport/tell
密mìsecret

告 means report or tell and 密 means secret; together they express reporting a secret to someone.

Characters in this word

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

The origin is unclear: one theory sees 告 as 壴 (a decorated drum) above 口 (an open mouth), while another sees a tongue sticking out of 口.

Open 告 →

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
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
宓
宓mì密mì
Same sound today

密 pairs 山 (mountain) with 宓 (mì), which gives the pronunciation, to picture something hidden in the mountains, hence secret.

Open 密 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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