TongTong
Sign in

告密者 (gào mì zhě) — informer, snitch, whistleblower (often pejorative)

Definition

告密者 (gào mì zhě) literally means 'one who reports a secret' — the agent noun from 告密 'to inform on someone'. In the examples it carries a strongly negative tone: a person who betrays a group (colleagues, friends, an organization) to authority.

noun
informersnitchwhistleblower (often pejorative)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 告密者。
    Nà ge gào mì zhě bèi jǐng chá bǎo hù qǐ lái le.
    That informer was taken into police protection.
  • 告密者，。
    Zǔ zhī lǐ chū le gào mì zhě, jì huà quán bào lù le.
    There was an informer in the organization, and the whole plan was exposed.
  • 告密者，。
    Tā yīn wèi dāng gào mì zhě, bèi péng you men gū lì le.
    He was ostracized by his friends for being an informer.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

告密report secret
告gàoreport密mìsecret
动宾Verb + object
者zhěperson who

告 means report, 密 means secret, and 者 points to the person who does it.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.

Open 者 →
Appears in
Crime & PolicePeople (General)

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.