留情 (liú qíng) — to show mercy, to spare (someone) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Almost always used in the negative: 毫不留情 / 不留情 means showing no mercy, treating someone harshly or candidly. Rarely used on its own in the affirmative.

verb

to show mercyto spare (someone)

Examples

。
Tā duì dí rén háo bù liú qíng.
He showed no mercy to the enemy.
留情，。
Qǐng nǐ shǒu xià liú qíng, bié chéng fá dé tài zhòng.
Please have mercy—don't punish too harshly.
。
Zài zhè zhǒng chǎng hé bù néng liú yì diǎn qíng.
In this kind of situation, you cannot show any mercy.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

留 means leave or keep, and 情 is the mercy or feeling shown.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

田田tiánfield

Sound part声符shēngfú

卯

卯mǎo留liú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

留 combines 田 (field) with 卯, which gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

青

青qīng情qíng

Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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