手 下 留 情

shǒu xià liú qíngdictionary entry

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.

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-fef10a76cd94b3df. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

手下留情 手下留情 [shou3 xia4 liu2 qing2] /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./

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

手
shǒu
hand / (formal) to hold / person engaged in certain types of work / person skilled in certain types of work / personal(ly) / convenient / classifier for skill / CL:雙|双[shuāng],隻|只[zhī]
下
xià
down / downwards / below / lower / later / next (week etc) / second (of two parts) / to decline / to go down / to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc) / measure word to show the frequency of an action
留
liú
to leave (a message etc) / to retain / to stay / to remain / to keep / to preserve
情
qíng
(bound form) feelings / emotion / sentiment / passion / (bound form) situation / condition

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.