Chinese idiom · 成语
滴水不漏
Meaning
Not a drop leaks; meticulous and flawless.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary usageThe image is of a container so tightly sealed that not even a drop escapes. In the Qing novel Qi Lu Deng, chapter 27, Wang Chunyu's worldly experience is credited with arranging a matter so carefully that it is watertight. The dictionary cites this as a documented use of the exact expression, not proof that the novelist invented it.
The image extends naturally to explanations, preparations, and plans that leave no opening for objection or discovery. Such completeness is not automatically virtuous: a deception may also be carefully concealed. No specific founding anecdote is established by the cited entry.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
她把交接流程安排得滴水不漏，连备用钥匙放哪儿都写清楚了。
She organized the handover so thoroughly that she even wrote down where the spare key was.
Describes meticulous coverage or concealment; context determines whether it is praise.