露马脚

露馬腳

lòu mǎjiǎo

phrase #38,459

Meanings

1 to show the horse's hoof
2 to give oneself away; to let the cat out of the bag
3 to have one's true nature exposed

Characters

to reveal; show

Examples

HSK 6

他一紧张就露马脚了。

Tā yī jǐnzhāng jiù lòu mǎjiǎo le.

He got nervous and gave the whole game away.

HSK 6

骗子演了半天，最后还是露了马脚。

Piànzi yǎn le bàntiān, zuìhòu háishi lòu le mǎjiǎo.

The con artist played his part for a while, but in the end he slipped up.

HSK 6

文件里的小细节让他露了马脚。

Wénjiàn lǐ de xiǎo xìjié ràng tā lòu le mǎjiǎo.

A small detail in the document gave him away.

Tips

history

Folk story: Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang's consort Ma had natural (unbound) feet, unusual for a woman of her class. A gust of wind lifted the curtain of her sedan chair on the street and her large feet showed - 露马脚 supposedly dates from this. Whether or not the tale is historical, it fixed the image of an accidental reveal.

usage

The verb 露 is read 'lòu' here in the colloquial sense 'to leak / reveal by accident,' not 'lù.' Common collocation: 露出马脚 or 露了马脚.

Stroke Order

露 lù

马 mǎ

脚 jiǎo