問うに落ちず語るに落ちる

Japanese

Kanji in this term

Grade: 3

Grade: 3
かた
Grade: 2

Grade: 3
kun’yomi

Etymology

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

Proverb

()うに()ちず(かた)るに()ちる • (tou ni ochizu kataru ni ochiru) ichidan (stem ()うに()ちず(かた)るに() (tou ni ochizu kataru ni ochi), past ()うに()ちず(かた)るに()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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