刀下留人

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Chinese

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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)
Literally: “spare the person under the knife”.

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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刀下留人

  1. used as an exclamation requesting that the decapitation of a prisoner be stayed or suspended: Spare him / her!