网开一面 wǎng kāi yī miàn

DEFINITIONS

  1. open the net on one side (idiom); let the caged bird fly
  2. to give one's opponent a way out
  3. lenient treatment

CHARACTERS

网 wǎng net; network; KangXi radical 122
开 kāi open; initiate, begin, start
一 yī one; a, an; alone
面 miàn face; surface; plane; side, dimension