小道消息

xiǎodàoxiāoxī

noun #16,593

Meanings

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

Characters

to disappear; to vanish

breath; news; information

Examples

HSK 5

小道消息不一定可靠。

Xiǎodàoxiāoxī bù yīdìng kěkào.

Gossip is not necessarily reliable.

HSK 7-9

据小道消息，公司要裁员了。

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

小 xiǎo

道 dào

消 xiāo

息 xī