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露馬腳

简露马脚 · 繁露馬腳

Mandarin · pinyin lòu mǎ jiǎo

to reveal the cloven foot (idiom); to unmask one's true nature
to give the game away

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Characters in this entry

露: lù · dew; bare, open, exposed
馬: Look up this written character
腳: jiǎo · foot; base, leg, foundation
马: mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187
脚: jiǎo · leg, foot; base, leg, foundation

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–3–3 · lou4 ma3 jiao3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

露馬腳 · find source passages ↗ · 露马脚 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lou6 maa5 goek3

Cantonese word readings for 露馬腳. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

(verb-object) to give oneself away; to unintentionally reveal hidden information

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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