中國人常說,「為人處世,要留三分餘地」。「留餘地[liú yú dì]」字面意思是「leave some room」,「餘地」指「the freedom that someone has to take the action they want to or to change their plans」,英語翻譯為「leeway」。
「留餘地」比喻不把話說死或不把事辦絕,留下進退迴旋的地步(leave some leeway,allow for some unforeseen circumstances)。常見用法為「留有足夠餘地(leave adequate leeway)」。
例句:
說話、辦事時一定要給自己留餘地。
We must leave some leeway when we talk about or do something.
制訂預算時要留餘地。
Leave some leeway when preparing the budget.