刀下留人
Chinese
editknife | under; next; lower under; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter |
leave (message); to retain; to stay leave (message); to retain; to stay; to remain; to keep; to preserve |
man; person; people | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
simp. and trad. (刀下留人) |
刀 | 下 | 留 | 人 | |
Literally: “spare the person under the knife”. |
Pronunciation
edit- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄉㄠ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄌㄧㄡˊ ㄖㄣˊ
- Tongyong Pinyin: daosiàlióurén
- Wade–Giles: tao1-hsia4-liu2-jên2
- Yale: dāu-syà-lyóu-rén
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: daushiahliouren
- Palladius: даосялюжэнь (daosjaljužɛnʹ)
- Sinological IPA (key): /tɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ɕi̯ä⁵¹ li̯oʊ̯³⁵ ʐən³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: dou1 haa6 lau4 jan4
- Yale: dōu hah làuh yàhn
- Cantonese Pinyin: dou1 haa6 lau4 jan4
- Guangdong Romanization: dou1 ha6 leo4 yen4
- Sinological IPA (key): /tou̯⁵⁵ haː²² lɐu̯²¹ jɐn²¹/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
edit刀下留人
- used as an exclamation requesting that the decapitation of a prisoner be stayed or suspended: Spare him / her!