倒苦水

dào kǔshuǐ
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 to pour out one's grievances
  2. 2 to vent
  3. 3 to unload one's troubles

Examples

HSK 4
Tā zhuā zhe wǒ de shǒu jiù kāishǐ dào kǔshuǐ.
She grabbed my hand and immediately started pouring out her troubles.
HSK 4
Xiàbān yǐhòu, tā cháng zhǎo lǎopéngyou dào kǔshuǐ.
After work he often finds an old friend to vent to.

Tips

memory
Literally 'pour out the bitter water': (dào, pour) + 苦水 (kǔshuǐ, bitter water - the buildup of complaints). Like English 'to unload', it implies the listener is doing the speaker a favor by absorbing the negativity.
grammar
Verb-object compound, so and 苦水 can be split: 倒了一肚子苦水 (dào le yī dùzi kǔshuǐ, 'poured out a belly-full of grievances'), 倒倒苦水 (reduplicate to soften, 'have a bit of a vent').

Stroke Order

dǎo
shuǐ