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水落石出

shuǐ luò shí chū

the truth comes to light

Character by character

水shuǐ
water
落luò
falls
石shí
stones
出chū
emerge

Example

这件事早晚会水落石出。
The truth will come out sooner or later.

Tone: neutral.

Usage and origin

From Su Shi's 'Second Ode on the Red Cliff', a winter scene of low water and bare rocks; now for a case solved.

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