脱口而出

• 拼音: tuō kǒu ér chū
• 汉字拆解: 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

含义

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.

例句

1. 她一看到这道数学题，答案就脱口而出，完全不需要计算。
2. 他脱口而出一句话，让在场的人都尴尬不已。
3. 背了很多年的古诗，如今脱口而出已经毫不费力。

用法指南

语境: conversation, language learning, social

语气: descriptive

正确说法

• 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.)

错误说法

• 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)

起源与历史

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.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal