CYChengyu Dictionary

Chengyu meaning

滴水不漏 (dī shuǐ bù lòu)

watertight; leaving no gaps

Plain Answer

Source: Image-based modern usage phrase. Treated here as modern usage; read it first as a sentence-level judgment.

Core meaning: 滴水不漏 means watertight; leaving no gaps: Used for speech, planning, defense, secrecy, or arrangements that leave no obvious gap, loophole, or leak.

Practice this meaning
Label
negative / common written and spoken Chinese
Best objects
plan quality, guarded speech, meaning boundary
Do not use when
Do not use 滴水不漏 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 一丝不苟 or the contrast points toward 马马虎虎, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

Use: Use 滴水不漏 when the plan quality sentence shows the object, cause, and tone clearly. Avoid: Avoid 滴水不漏 when the sentence only sounds related, lacks evidence, or needs a plainer word.

plan quality这份应急方案考虑得滴水不漏。Zhe fen yingji fangan kaolv de di shui bu lou.This emergency plan is watertight and leaves no obvious gaps.

Next: Read the examples, then compare 一丝不苟 before practicing 滴水不漏 in the focused quiz.

Often studied with: 一丝不苟, 洞若观火, 胸有成竹

Read This First

滴水不漏 is introduced here through a modern usage entry rather than a fixed ancient anecdote; the source label is Image-based modern usage phrase, and the page separates that background from modern sentence choice.

滴水不漏 means watertight; leaving no gaps. The important first reading is Used for speech, planning, defense, secrecy, or arrangements that leave no obvious gap, loophole, or leak. This is a negative phrase in normal use, so the sentence must show the judgment clearly.

Use 滴水不漏 when the object, cause, and tone match examples such as plan quality, guarded speech, meaning boundary; then compare 一丝不苟 and 洞若观火 before writing your own sentence.

Avoid 滴水不漏 when the sentence only shares a broad topic, when the tone would be unfair to the person being described, or when a plainer word would be clearer than a chengyu.

Start with this cue: plan quality plus a visible reason.

Meaning and Translation Notes

Used for speech, planning, defense, secrecy, or arrangements that leave no obvious gap, loophole, or leak.

Literal meaning

not a drop of water leaks

  • 滴水 / a drop of water
  • 不漏 / does not leak
  • the image shows total tightness

English equivalents

  • watertight near

    Best for arguments, plans, and defenses.

  • leave no loopholes plain

    Good for policy, legal, or planning contexts.

  • perfectly tight near

    Works for a guarded explanation or arrangement.

How To Use It

Use 滴水不漏 when the reader can see why watertight; leaving no gaps is the exact judgment, not just the topic. A strong sentence names the actor, the thing being judged, and the evidence that makes this idiom more precise than an ordinary adjective.

  • Use it for arrangements, arguments, explanations, secrecy, or defenses that are tightly controlled.
  • The phrase can be praise when tightness protects quality, and caution when tightness hides intention.
  • It is stronger than simply careful because the leak image implies no visible opening.

Common Mistakes

Do not use 滴水不漏 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 一丝不苟 or the contrast points toward 马马虎虎, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

  • Do not use it for emotional warmth or broad wisdom. It is about gaps, leaks, and control.
  • Do not confuse it with 一丝不苟; meticulous detail is not always the same as a watertight plan.

Wrong Use Clinic

The most useful check is often the phrase you should reject.

  1. The learner wants to sound more idiomatic but has only a broad topic match for 滴水不漏.

    The sentence drops in 滴水不漏 without showing the cause, object, or tone that would make the idiom necessary.

    Fix: Rewrite the sentence so the evidence for watertight; leaving no gaps appears before or after the phrase.

    滴水不漏 fails in this case because a chengyu is not decoration; it must name the exact judgment the sentence is making.

    Compare yi si bu gou

  2. The learner wants to say the opposite or a neighboring idea and chooses 滴水不漏 because it feels familiar.

    The sentence uses 滴水不漏, but the described situation points to a different cause, time point, or social attitude.

    Fix: Compare the sentence with 马马虎虎 and choose the phrase whose boundary explains the situation with less force.

    滴水不漏 becomes misleading when the nearby phrase would identify the real problem more cleanly.

    Compare ma ma hu hu

  3. The learner has the right meaning area for 滴水不漏 but ignores register and emotional force.

    The sentence uses 滴水不漏 directly about a person, yet gives no softening context or evidence for such a admiring, wary, or critical depending on object judgment.

    Fix: Add the observed behavior first, or choose 洞若观火 if the sentence needs a gentler learning path.

    滴水不漏 can sound heavier than a short English gloss. The reader needs enough context to see why the tone is fair.

    Compare dong ruo guan huo

  4. The learner remembers the origin image of 滴水不漏 but applies it to the wrong object.

    The sentence names an image or story detail, but the real object being judged would be better explained by another chengyu.

    Fix: Name the object first. If the object points toward 掉以轻心, use that contrast instead.

    滴水不漏 should follow the judgment, not the most memorable image. Story memory is useful only when it supports the sentence-level decision.

    Compare diao yi qing xin

Chengyu Often Studied Together

Use these clusters to build sentence-level judgment instead of memorizing a single gloss.

  1. 滴水不漏 with nearby learner choices

    滴水不漏 is often studied beside 一丝不苟 and 洞若观火 because the words share a theme while asking the learner to judge a different cause, tone, or timing.

    老师先让学生解释滴水不漏，再比较一丝不苟和洞若观火，这样不会只凭英文近义词选答案。

    yi si bu goudong ruo guan huo

  2. 滴水不漏 with contrast checks

    滴水不漏 becomes easier to use when it is contrasted with 胸有成竹 and 马马虎虎; the contrast forces the writer to decide whether the sentence is praise, warning, correction, or neutral description.

    写作练习里先用滴水不漏造句，再换成胸有成竹，观察判断方向怎样改变。

    xiong you cheng zhuma ma hu huyi si bu gou

  3. 滴水不漏 in example-building drills

    滴水不漏 should be practiced with 一丝不苟 and 胸有成竹 because examples reveal whether the learner is choosing by meaning, tone, or only by a remembered image.

    课堂上先用滴水不漏写一个有证据的句子，再换成一丝不苟或胸有成竹说明判断为什么改变。

    yi si bu gouxiong you cheng zhudong ruo guan huo

  4. 滴水不漏 in story and source review

    滴水不漏 links best with 洞若观火 and 马马虎虎 when the learner is checking whether a source image truly supports a modern sentence.

    复习出处时，不要只背滴水不漏的故事，还要比较洞若观火，看哪个成语更能解释现代句子。

    dong ruo guan huoma ma hu huyi si bu gou

Learner Guide

Use these notes when deciding whether this chengyu fits a real sentence.

滴水不漏 fits plans, arguments, arrangements, explanations, secrecy, and guarded speech. It is about gaps and leaks. A person may arrange a trip 滴水不漏, or answer questions 滴水不漏 because they are careful not to reveal anything.

Watertight is the best compact English for plans, arguments, and defenses. Leave no loopholes is useful for rules or policy. Perfectly tight works when the sentence is about speech, but it may need another word such as guarded to show tone.

Do not confuse it with 一丝不苟. A meticulous person may check details carefully, but 滴水不漏 focuses on whether anything gets through. It can be about control more than care. 洞若观火 is also different because it praises clear understanding rather than tight structure.

A strong example should identify the possible leak. Was it a flaw in the plan, a loophole in the argument, a secret that could escape, or a question the speaker refused to answer? Naming the leak makes the idiom precise.

Before using 滴水不漏, write the plain English idea first. If the plain sentence already says everything naturally, the chengyu must add a sharper judgment, cultural image, or tone. If it does not add one of those, leave the plain wording alone.

A good 滴水不漏 sentence contains an object and evidence. The object is the person, plan, habit, result, or scene being judged. The evidence is the reason the phrase fits. Without both parts, the idiom may look learned but feel empty.

Compare 滴水不漏 with 一丝不苟 and 马马虎虎 before finalizing a sentence. The goal is not to memorize synonyms; the goal is to reject the wrong phrase for a clear reason. That rejection is what turns recognition into usable knowledge.

When teaching or self-reviewing 滴水不漏, ask the learner to mark source, meaning, use case, wrong case, and one example. If any mark is missing, return to the entry section that supplies it rather than guessing from the headword alone.

plan quality is the first test zone for 滴水不漏, but it is not the only possible use. Before using the phrase, name the speaker, the object being judged, and the nearest tested context: plan quality, guarded speech, meaning boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary, comparison check, context setup, teacher correction. Then choose among watertight, leave no loopholes, perfectly tight as translation candidates and reject at least one candidate out loud. A useful final check is to compare the sentence with yi-si-bu-gou and dong-ruo-guan-huo; if one of those nearby entries explains the situation with less strain, the nearby phrase is the better learner choice.

When 滴水不漏 is translated as watertight, the English should still preserve the phrase's tone. Keep admiring, wary, or critical depending on object and the strategy use area visible when the audience is still learning the idiom. If a short translation hides the warning "Do not use it for emotional warmth or broad wisdom. It is about gaps, leaks, and control.", choose a fuller English explanation instead. This matters because the strongest chengyu pages should help readers decide when not to use the most convenient English equivalent.

Example Sentences

Each example labels the situation so you can choose a natural English translation.

plan quality

这份应急方案考虑得滴水不漏。

Zhe fen yingji fangan kaolv de di shui bu lou.

This emergency plan is watertight and leaves no obvious gaps.

guarded speech

他回答问题滴水不漏，但大家反而觉得他有所保留。

Ta huida wenti di shui bu lou, dan dajia faner juede ta you suo baoliu.

His answers were perfectly guarded, but that made people feel he was holding something back.

meaning boundary

滴水不漏强调没有漏洞，不等于内容一定真诚。

Di shui bu lou qiangdiao meiyou loudong, bu dengyu neirong yiding zhencheng.

滴水不漏 emphasizes the absence of gaps; it does not prove the speaker is sincere.

usage boundary

只有原因和语气都清楚时，这句话才适合用滴水不漏。

zhi you yuan yin he yu qi dou qing chu shi zhe ju hua cai shi he yong di shui bu lou

Only use 滴水不漏 when the cause and tone are both clear, not just because the topic feels nearby.

misuse boundary

如果只是普通情况，不要为了显得有文化而硬说滴水不漏。

ru guo zhi shi pu tong qing kuang bu yao wei le xian de you wen hua er ying shuo di shui bu lou

If the situation is ordinary, do not force 滴水不漏 just to make the sentence sound more cultured.

comparison check

比较近义成语以后，再决定这里是不是应该写滴水不漏。

bi jiao jin yi cheng yu yi hou zai jue ding zhe li shi bu shi ying gai xie di shui bu lou

After comparing nearby chengyu, decide whether 滴水不漏 is really the phrase the sentence needs.

context setup

这段话先说明对象和原因，所以滴水不漏读起来不突兀。

zhe duan hua xian shuo ming dui xiang he yuan yin suo yi di shui bu lou du qi lai bu tu wu

The passage names the object and cause first, so 滴水不漏 does not feel abrupt.

teacher correction

老师让学生先解释为什么不用别的词，再用滴水不漏造句。

lao shi rang xue sheng xian jie shi wei shen me bu yong bie de ci zai yong di shui bu lou zao ju

The teacher asks students to explain why another phrase would be wrong before writing a sentence with 滴水不漏.

Story and Cultural Context

滴水不漏 is easy to remember because the physical image is exact. If even a drop cannot leak through, the container, plan, speech, or defense must be tightly sealed. Modern Chinese extends that image to planning, argument, secrecy, investigation, and interpersonal speech. English speakers should notice that tightness is not always trust. A plan can be admirably complete; an answer can be suspiciously guarded. The phrase names tight structure first, and the surrounding sentence decides whether that is good. 滴水不漏 is concrete because the test is tiny: not even one drop passes through. The image can praise a complete plan, a careful defense, or an exact explanation. It can also describe someone whose answers are so tight that they reveal nothing. English speakers should therefore avoid assuming the phrase is always positive. It says the surface has no leak; the sentence around it decides whether that tightness is admirable or suspicious. For this entry, the origin note is only the beginning of the explanation. The useful question is why 滴水不漏 survived as a portable judgment rather than as a decorative allusion. The modern usage route gives the reader an image, but the modern sentence must still prove its own fit. A learner should ask three things: what concrete object is being judged, what evidence in the sentence supports that judgment, and what tone the phrase adds that a plain English adjective would not add. This is why the page tests 滴水不漏 through plan quality, guarded speech, meaning boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary; each context changes the pressure on the phrase and shows whether the idiom is acting as praise, warning, neutral description, or criticism. The story or usage background also has a translation boundary. 滴水不漏 can point toward watertight, leave no loopholes, perfectly tight, but those English choices are not interchangeable. One version may preserve the image, another may sound natural in a classroom answer, and another may be safer in a workplace or essay sentence. The entry therefore treats public references as source cards, not as a paragraph order to imitate. Headword checks, story labels, and English equivalents are separated first; only after that are they rebuilt into the learner path used here: answer, label, examples, wrong-use clinic, comparison, story, and practice. The most common failure is overextension. Because 滴水不漏 has a memorable surface, learners may reach for it whenever a topic feels close. The better habit is to compare it with 一丝不苟 and 洞若观火 and with 马马虎虎 and 掉以轻心 before writing. If the rejected phrase is hard to reject, the sentence probably has not supplied enough evidence. If the rejected phrase is easy to reject, the learner can explain the boundary and use 滴水不漏 with confidence. That is the practical purpose of the origin section: it turns cultural memory into a sentence-level decision instead of leaving the reader with a story and no next action.

Learning point: A watertight surface may show care, control, or concealment depending on context.

Editorial Notes

These notes turn the entry into a decision path, not a loose definition.

First answer before details

滴水不漏 should first be read as a decision about watertight; leaving no gaps, not as a collectible story label. The usage history helps memory, but the reader's real task is to decide whether the modern sentence is making a negative judgment with enough evidence. Start with the object being described, then ask what happened, who is being judged, and whether the tone is fair. If those details are missing, the idiom will feel like learned decoration rather than useful Chinese. This first-answer rule also helps teachers and translators: they can explain the phrase quickly before deciding whether a longer story, comparison, or correction block is needed.

Example clinic

The examples for 滴水不漏 deliberately cover plan quality, guarded speech, meaning boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary because a learner needs more than one successful sentence before the phrase becomes usable. Read the Chinese sentence, then explain in plain English why this phrase is more precise than a simple adjective or loose translation. A strong example names the context, shows the evidence, and makes the tone visible. A weak example merely places the chengyu near a related topic. This habit prevents a common error: remembering the literal image but forgetting the social judgment carried by the phrase. When the example feels forced, return to the meaning line and choose a plainer wording.

Comparison boundary

Before using 滴水不漏, compare it with 一丝不苟 and 洞若观火 and, when possible, with 马马虎虎 and 掉以轻心. The comparison is not a synonym game. Nearby chengyu often share effort, caution, wisdom, or evaluation as a topic, while differing in cause, timing, and emotional force. A good learner sentence can explain why the rejected phrase fails. If that explanation is impossible, the chosen idiom is probably too loose. This is also the cleanest internal-link reason: the next page exists because it helps the reader reject a tempting but wrong choice. The comparison should leave a reusable rule, not merely another link to click.

Wrong-use trigger

滴水不漏 should be rejected when the sentence lacks an object, hides the reason for the judgment, or uses the idiom only because it sounds literary. The safest correction is to rewrite the sentence in plain English first, then add the chengyu only if it sharpens the meaning. If the tone becomes unfair, choose a gentler nearby phrase. If the source image is memorable but the modern object does not match, use the story only as background and do not force the idiom into the sentence. This wrong-use trigger is what keeps the entry from becoming a long but vague dictionary page.

Source synthesis note

滴水不漏 uses public references as checkpoints rather than as a structure to copy. One source may help with the headword, another with a story or image, and another with English translation range. The page then rebuilds those checks into its own learner order: short answer, label, examples, misuse, collocation, guide, story, and practice. This matters because a single-source paraphrase would give readers a familiar-looking article but not a better learning tool. The editorial value here is the decision path: what to use, what not to use, what to compare, and how to test the phrase in a new sentence.

Practice This Decision

Answer a focused quiz question, then come back to the examples and misuse clinic if the near phrase feels tempting.

Start focused quizReview mistakes first