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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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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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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.

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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

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