露底 (lòu dǐ) — to reveal the inside story, to divulge a secret

Definition

To let the inside story slip out — 'blow the lid off' a secret or hidden plan, often by accident. Pair it with 揭穿 (deliberately expose a cover-up) when you want to stress intent vs. slip-up.

verb
to reveal the inside storyto divulge a secret

Examples

  • 露底，。
    Zhè jiàn shì nǐ qiān wàn bù néng lòu dǐ, fǒu zé jiù má fan le.
    You absolutely must not reveal the inside story on this matter, or we'll be in trouble.
  • ，露底。
    Tā yì shí shuō lòu le zuǐ, lòu dǐ le.
    He accidentally let it slip and exposed the secret.
  • ，。
    Zài tán pàn zhōng, duì fāng bù xiǎo xīn lù le dǐ.
    During the negotiations, the other side carelessly revealed their hand.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

露lùreveal
底dǐinside

'露' means reveal and '底' means the inside or bottom, so together they mean expose what was hidden.

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
雨雨yǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
路
路lù露lù
Same sound today

露 pairs 雨, a rain-related meaning part, with 路, a sound part.

Open 露 →

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
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
氐
氐dī底dǐ
Same sound today

底 pairs 广 (building) with 氐, pointing to the bottom or foundation of a building. Some read 氐 as a bowing figure or tree root, adding a sense of 'down'.

Open 底 →

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