酌情
zhuó qíng · HSK 7
to use discretion
🍷⚖️ 酌 deliberate (pour wine) + 情 circumstances = weigh the situation before acting
酌 originally meant to pour and measure out wine, which extended to weighing or deliberating; 情 is the circumstances or facts. Together: judge each case on its merits and make allowances as the situation warrants.
情 — heart radical 忄 + 青 (qīng)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 忄 signals that the meaning involves feelings or inner states, while 青 supplies the sound 'qing'. Originally referring to genuine feelings or emotion arising from the heart, 情 expanded to cover sentiment, affection, and circumstances or situations more broadly.