Du bist eine Petze!

English Translation

You’re a dobber!

for Americans out there, a “dobber” is a tattletale

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I am not sure about the exact usage here.

You would never use “Petze” in an official situation like a wistleblower, traitor of informer for the police.
It is e.g. a child telling the parents that a sibling has done something forbidden.
I think “dobber” can be used colloquially in both situations, can’t it?
A “tattletale” can also be a person telling a secret out of stupidity, whereas a “Petze” is always doing it on porpose and out of malice.

Btw, “Petze” is always feminine, so a boy is a “Petze”, too. There is no “Petzer”.

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I’ve never heard “dobber”, so I can’t comment on that, but I can confirm that “tattletale” has the same meaning as what you describe: someone is deliberately revealing a secret. Someone who reveals a secret out of stupidity would probably be referred to as a “blabbermouth” instead.

“Tattletale” is therefore always used as an insult. It would never be used in a news report to describe a case of corporate or government whistleblowing. It’s mostly used by kids. I don’t know how well that lines up with “dobber”.

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