🇨🇳Chinese Source WordCode: ZH

泄露秘密

Pronunciation / Transliteration: xiè lù mìmì

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Spill the beans/spɪl ðə biːnz/
verbCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #4500 frequency
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🇨🇳 Example Sentence in Chinese:

"他不小心泄露了秘密。"

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As verb
  1. 1

    To reveal a secret, often unintentionally or prematurely.

    "He accidentally spilled the beans about the surprise birthday party."
  2. 2

    To disclose confidential information under pressure or interrogation.

    "The suspect finally spilled the beans to the detectives after hours of questioning."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

This idiom's exact origin is debated, but popular folk etymology traces it to an ancient Greek voting process where colored beans were used to cast votes. Over time, the phrase shifted in American English during the early 20th century to mean revealing a secret prematurely or accidentally.

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