中国人常说，“为人处世，要留三分余地”。“留余地[liú yú dì]”字面意思是“leave some room”，“余地”指“the freedom that someone has to take the action they want to or to change their plans”，英文翻译为“leeway”。
“留余地”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）。常见用法为“留有足够余地（leave adequate leeway）”。
- 说话、办事时一定要给自己留余地。
We must leave some leeway when we talk about or do something. - 制订预算时要留余地。
Leave some leeway when preparing the budget.
