問うに落ちず語るに落ちる

Japanese

Kanji in this term
問 落 語 落
と
Grade: 3
お
Grade: 3
かた
Grade: 2
お
Grade: 3
kun’yomi

Etymology

Consisting of 問う (tou, “to ask”) +‎ に (ni, particle) +‎ 落ちず (ochizu, “not fall”) +‎ 語る (kataru, “to tell, to talk about”) +‎ に (ni, particle) +‎ 落ちる (ochiru, “to fall”), literally "not confessing when asked but to confess while talking"

Proverb

問(と)うに落(お)ちず語(かた)るに落(お)ちる • (tou ni ochizu kataru ni ochiru) ichidan (stem 問(と)うに落(お)ちず語(かた)るに落(お)ち (tou ni ochizu kataru ni ochi), past 問(と)うに落(お)ちず語(かた)るに落(お)ちた (tou ni ochizu kataru ni ochita))

  1. (idiomatic) to keep a secret when asked about it, but let it slip inadvertently when chatting on another occasion

Conjugation

Alternative forms

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