水落石出

• Pinyin: shuǐ luò shí chū
• Hanzi breakdown: 水 (water) + 落 (fall, recede) + 石 (stone, rock) + 出 (emerge, come out)

Meaning

The truth will come to light; when the water recedes, the rocks are revealed. An idiom meaning that facts hidden by confusion or concealment will eventually become clear.

From Su Shi's prose poem 后赤壁赋 (Second Ode at Red Cliff, 1083 AD): 山高月小，水落石出. Used in investigative, legal, and journalistic contexts to express confidence that the truth will ultimately emerge.

Examples

1. 调查人员誓言要让此案水落石出，还受害者一个公道。 Investigators vowed to get to the bottom of the case and give the victims justice.
2. 经过数月的审计，公司账目的问题终于水落石出。 After months of auditing, the problems in the company’s accounts finally came to light.
3. 随着更多证人出庭作证，事情的真相逐渐水落石出。 As more witnesses testified in court, the truth gradually came to light.

Usage Guide

Context: investigation, justice, journalism, idiom

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 检察院表示，无论案情多么复杂，都会让事实水落石出。(The procuratorate stated that no matter how complex the case, the facts will be brought to light.)
• 经过反复核查，这起财务造假案终于水落石出，涉案人员已被移送司法机关。(After repeated verification, the financial fraud case has finally come to light, and those involved have been referred to judicial authorities.)

Don't Say

• 水落石出 describes a process of revelation over time; do not use it for something that was immediately obvious — use 一目了然 instead for things clear at a glance

Origin & History

From 苏轼《后赤壁赋》(Su Shi, Second Red Cliff Ode, 1083): 水落石出 — as water levels drop in autumn, hidden rocks emerge; metaphor for truth surfacing

Cultural Context

Era: Song Dynasty

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal