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马脚

馬腳
mǎjiǎo
noun #21,276

Meanings

  1. 1 a telltale flaw
  2. 2 a revealing slip
  3. 3 the horse's foot (as in: reveal one's true self)

Examples

他一开口就露出了马脚。
Tā yī kāikǒu jiù lùchū le mǎjiǎo.
As soon as he opened his mouth, he gave himself away.
骗子精心伪装，却还是露出了马脚。
Piànzi jīngxīn wèizhuāng, què háishì lùchū le mǎjiǎo.
The scammer disguised himself carefully but still revealed his true colors.
她谎话说多了，终究要露马脚。
Tā huǎnghuà shuō duō le, zhōngjiū yào lù mǎjiǎo.
If she keeps telling lies, she will eventually slip up.

Tips

history
The expression 露马脚 (to reveal the horse's foot) comes from a story about a woman disguised as a man at a festival — her bound feet slipped out from under her robe, exposing the deception. 马脚 now means any revealing flaw or slip-up.
memory
Think of a pantomime horse costume: when the actor's real leg sticks out, the illusion is ruined. 露马脚 = letting the horse's foot show = giving yourself away.

Stroke Order

马 mǎ
脚 jiǎo