露马脚

露馬腳

lòumǎjiǎo

idiom #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

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.

骗子演了半天，最后还是露了马脚。

Piànzi yǎnle bàntiān, zuìhòu háishi lòule mǎjiǎo.

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

文件里的小细节让他露了马脚。

Wénjiàn lǐ de xiǎo xìjié ràng tā lòule 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