show mercy; spare feelings; be lenient
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to show mercy; to spare someone's feelings; to be lenient out of regard for personal feelings
Commonly used in set phrases such as 手下留情 (to show mercy) and 毫不留情 (to show no mercy). Often implies making an exception or being less severe than one could be.
Tā他
duì对
dí敌
rén人
háo毫
bù不
liú留
qíng情
。
He showed no mercy to his enemies.
Xī希
wàng望
nǐ你
néng能
shǒu手
xià下
liú留
qíng情
，
fàng放
guò过
tā他
zhè这
yī一
cì次
。
I hope you can show some mercy and let him off this one time.
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Fǎ法
guān官
liàng量
xíng刑
shí时
duì对
tā他
liú留
qíng情
le了
。
The judge was lenient when sentencing him.
Zài在
zhè这
gè个
wèn问
tí题
shàng上
，
wǒ我
men们
bù不
néng能
liú留
qíng情
miàn面
。
On this issue, we cannot spare anyone's feelings.