透露
tòulù · HSK 6
to leak out; to divulge
🤫 透 (penetrate) + 露 (dew/reveal) = let info seep through
Think of a secret that penetrates a barrier and gets exposed like morning dew on a surface — something hidden becomes visible. The first character means pass-through, the second means露 bare/reveal.
透 — walk radical 辶 + 秀 (xiù, elegant/phonetic)
透 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The walk radical 辶 suggests movement or passing through, while 秀 supplies the sound. The original sense was 'to pass through' or 'penetrate,' which extended to meanings like 'thoroughly,' 'transparent,' and 'leak through.'
露 — rain 雨 (top) + road 路 (bottom, phonetic)
露 combines 雨 'rain' as the meaning component with 路 'road' as the phonetic. It originally referred to dew — the moisture that settles overnight on outdoor paths. From there it extended to 'expose' or 'reveal,' since dew lies open on surfaces.