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手下留情

Mandarin · pinyin shǒu xià liú qíng

lit. start off leniently (idiom); please do not be too strict with me
Do not judge me too harshly.
Look favorably on my humble efforts.

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Characters in this entry

手: shǒu · hand
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
留: liú · stop, halt; stay, detain, keep
情: qíng · feeling, sentiment, emotion

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–4–2–2 · shou3 xia4 liu2 qing2

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sau2 haa6 lau4 cing4

Cantonese word readings for 手下留情. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

sau2 haa6 lau4 cing4

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to show mercy when implementing a punishment or fighting

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack