小道消息

xiǎodàoxiāoxī
noun #16,593

Meanings

  1. 1 hearsay; gossip
  2. 2 grapevine news; rumor (from unofficial channels)

Examples

HSK 3
Xiǎodàoxiāoxī bù yīdìng kěkào.
Gossip is not necessarily reliable.
HSK 7-9
Jù xiǎodàoxiāoxī, gōngsī yào cáiyuán le.
According to the grapevine, the company is going to lay people off.

Tips

memory
小道 (small path) + 消息 (news) - news that travels along the small back paths rather than the main road, i.e. unofficial gossip.

Stroke Order

xiǎo
dào
xiāo