中国人常说,待人处事,要留三分空间。留空间[li y d]字面意思是leave some room,空间指the freedom that someone has to take the action they want to or to change their plans,英语翻译为leeway。
留空间比喻不把话说死或不把事办绝,留下进退回旋的地步(leave some leeway,allow for some unforeseen circumstances)。容易见到使用方法为留有足够空间(leave adequate leeway)。
例句:
说话、办事时必须要给自己留空间。
We must leave some leeway when we talk about or do something.
制定预算时要留空间。
Leave some leeway when preparing the budget.