刀下留人
Chinese edit
knife | 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
Idiom edit
刀下留人
- used as an exclamation requesting that the decapitation of a prisoner be stayed or suspended: Spare him / her!