脱口而出

• Pinyin: tuō kǒu ér chū
• Hanzi breakdown: 脱 = 月 (flesh) + 兑 (shed); 口 = pictograph of an open mouth; 而 = pictograph of a beard, used as a conjunction; 出 = foot stepping out of a hollow

Meaning

To blurt out; to say something without thinking. Words escaping from the mouth spontaneously before one has time to consider.

A four-character idiom (成语). Can be positive — saying something so fluent or well-practised that it comes naturally — or negative — saying something impulsively that one regrets. In contexts of embarrassment, it describes an inappropriate remark made without thinking. In contexts of talent or mastery, it describes enviable fluency.

Examples

1. 她一看到这道数学题，答案就脱口而出，完全不需要计算。 The moment she saw this maths problem, the answer came out of her mouth spontaneously — no calculation needed.
2. 他脱口而出一句话，让在场的人都尴尬不已。 He blurted out a sentence that left everyone present deeply embarrassed.
3. 背了很多年的古诗，如今脱口而出已经毫不费力。 Having memorised classical poems for many years, she can now recite them effortlessly without a moment's thought.

Usage Guide

Context: conversation, language learning, social

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 她的英语已经学到了脱口而出的程度，完全不用打草稿。(Her English has reached the level where it comes out spontaneously — no need to draft it mentally.)
• 他有时候说话不过脑子，总是脱口而出一些不合时宜的话。(He sometimes speaks without thinking and tends to blurt out inappropriate things.)

Don't Say

• 用'脱口而出'形容经过深思熟虑后说出的话 (脱口而出 specifically describes spontaneous, unpremeditated speech — considered remarks are 深思熟虑后说出)

Origin & History

成语 (chéngyǔ — four-character idiom). 脱 = escape, 口 = mouth, 而 = then, 出 = come out. Literally 'escape from the mouth and come out,' describing unpremeditated speech.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal