水落石出

shuǐ​luò​shí​chū

water recedes and rocks emerge

winter water levels drop, causing rocks in the riverbed to be exposed; used to describe seasonal scenery

水 (literal) → 水 · shuǐ · water 落 (literal) → 落 · luò · to fall 石 (literal) → 石 · shí · stone 出 (literal) → 出 · chū · to appear

Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

created sense May 20, 2026, 07:57 PM

水落石出

shuǐ​luò​shí​chū

the truth comes to light

figuratively, the truth of a matter or investigation is eventually revealed after being obscured

水 (literal) → 水 · shuǐ · water 落 (literal) → 落 · luò · to fall 石 (literal) → 石 · shí · stone 出 (literal) → 出 · chū · to appear

Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

created sense May 20, 2026, 07:57 PM