Phrase guide

a little bird told me

phrase · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ə ˌlɪtl̩ bɜːd ˈtəʊld miː/
  • General-American: /ə ˌlɪt(ə)l bɜɹd ˈtoʊld mi/
  • General-American: [-ˌlɪɾ(ə)l-]
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

phrase

Meaning 1

I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: humorous, idiomatic

Examples

  • Let’s just say I know because a little bird told me.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: rumour has it, word has it

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

The etymology is unknown; in English sources, references to birds passing along information to people date back to at least the 16th century (see the 1546 quotation), and in other languages even earlier. For example, Ecclesiastes 10:20 in the Bible, the original Hebrew version of which is dated to 450–180 B.C.E., states according to the King James Version (spelling modernized): “Curse not the king, no not in thy thought, and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.”

Across languages

Translations

32 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: أَخْبَرَتْنِي العُصْفُورة (ʔaḵbaratnī l-ʕuṣfūra) — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Basque: txori txiki batek esan zidan — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Bulgarian: едно́ пти́ченце ми ка́за (ednó ptíčence mi káza) — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Bulgarian: едно пиленце ми каза (edno pilence mi kaza) — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Chinese Mandarin: 私下聽說 /私下听说 — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Danish: høre en lille fugl synge om — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Finnish: pikkulinnut lauloivat — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • French: mon petit doigt m'a dit — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • German: ein Vögelchen hat mir gezwitschert — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Greek: μου το ’πε ένα πουλάκι (mou to ’pe éna pouláki) — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Hebrew: ציפור קטנה לחשה לי (tsipor ktana lahasha li) — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Hungarian: a verebek csiripelték — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Hungarian: a kismadarak csiripelték — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Icelandic: lítill fugl hvíslaði að mér — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Icelandic: lítill fugl sagði mér — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Italian: un uccellino mi ha detto che ... — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Japanese: 小さな鳥が私に言った (chīsana tori ga watashi ni itta) — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Korean: 작은 새가 나에게 말했다. (jageun saega na'ege malhaetda.) — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Macedonian: едно врапче ми кажа (edno vrapče mi kaža) — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Maltese: għasfur żgħir qalli — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Norwegian Bokmål: en liten fugl hvisket meg i øret — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Norwegian Bokmål: en liten fugl sa det — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Polish: ptaszki o tym ćwierkają — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Portuguese: um passarinho me contou — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Russian: мне́ пти́чка нашепта́ла (mné ptíčka našeptála) — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Serbo-Croatian: шапнула ми птичица — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Serbo-Croatian: šapnula mi ptičica — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Spanish: un pajarito me dijo — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Spanish: un pajarito me lo contó — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Swedish: en liten fågel kvittrade i mitt öra — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Turkish: kuşlar söyledi — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose
  • Zazaki: mıriçıka va — I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose