一五一十
yī wǔ yī shí
(tell) everything, from start to finish
Character by character
一yī
one
one
五wǔ
five
five
一yī
one
one
十shí
ten
ten
Example
他把事情的经过一五一十地告诉了警察。
He told the police exactly what happened, from start to finish.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From counting in fives, and used with 说、讲、告诉, often of owning up to everything.
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