<blockquote>
<p><em>Question: Does 透露 only refer to something undesirable?</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>No, the things that got 透露 (revealed) are undisclosed information, Both 'reveal' and 'information' are neutral term</p>
<p>The correct term for 'to leak out (dark secret)' is '洩露 (黑暗的秘密)', Using 透露 would be too neutral</p>
<p>Similarly, we say 洩露醜聞 (leak out scandal), not 透露醜聞 (reveal scandal)</p>
<p>If you look at the following sentence &quot;美國總統在談話中透露/洩露出他發動戰爭的意向&quot; (The President of the United States revealed his intention to wage war in his conversation), you can see even '發動戰爭的意向' is not always negative because you can use either 透露 or 洩露</p>
<p>Meanwhile, 洩露 cannot be replaced by 透露 in &quot;美國總統在談話中洩露了他貪污的秘密&quot; (The President of the United States revealed/ give away the secert of his corruption in his conversation)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-04T11:35:32.947Z
2020-12-04T12:13:30.480Z
2020-12-04T12:13:30.480Z
Tang Ho
<blockquote>
<p>透露 (tòu​lù)<br />
<a href="https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=%E9%80%8F%E9%9C%B2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CC-CEDICT</a>: to leak out / to divulge / to reveal</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I see 透露 a lot in newspapers, and I only ever recall seeing it refer to something bad, e.g. leaked information.  Moreover, examples such as at <a href="http://www.jukuu.com/search.php?q=%E9%80%8F%E9%9C%B2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Jukuu</a> generally suggest that 透露 mostly (exclusively (?)) refers to something undesirable or bad (or, at least, not particularly good).</p>
<p>I'm not sure if this is always the case.  In English, &quot;reveal&quot; (one of the above definitions) can be a positive thing, e.g., <em>chipping away at this rock revealed a fossil</em>.  But I don't think 透露 works this way.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: Does 透露 only refer to something undesirable?</p>

<meaning><word>
Does the word 透露 ("leak") only refer to something undesirable?
# Does the word 透露 ("leak") only refer to something undesirable?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-04)

> 透露 (tòu​lù)  
> [CC-CEDICT](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=%E9%80%8F%E9%9C%B2): to leak out / to divulge / to reveal

I see 透露 a lot in newspapers, and I only ever recall seeing it refer to something bad, e.g. leaked information. Moreover, examples such as at [Jukuu](http://www.jukuu.com/search.php?q=%E9%80%8F%E9%9C%B2) generally suggest that 透露 mostly (exclusively (?)) refers to something undesirable or bad (or, at least, not particularly good).

I'm not sure if this is always the case. In English, "reveal" (one of the above definitions) can be a positive thing, e.g., *chipping away at this rock revealed a fossil*. But I don't think 透露 works this way.

**Question**: Does 透露 only refer to something undesirable?

**Tags:** meaning, word


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-12-04. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

> *Question: Does 透露 only refer to something undesirable?*

No, the things that got 透露 (revealed) are undisclosed information, Both 'reveal' and 'information' are neutral term

The correct term for 'to leak out (dark secret)' is '洩露 (黑暗的秘密)', Using 透露 would be too neutral

Similarly, we say 洩露醜聞 (leak out scandal), not 透露醜聞 (reveal scandal)

If you look at the following sentence "美國總統在談話中透露/洩露出他發動戰爭的意向" (The President of the United States revealed his intention to wage war in his conversation), you can see even '發動戰爭的意向' is not always negative because you can use either 透露 or 洩露

Meanwhile, 洩露 cannot be replaced by 透露 in "美國總統在談話中洩露了他貪污的秘密" (The President of the United States revealed/ give away the secert of his corruption in his conversation)


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