失之毫厘,谬以千里 in English shi1 zhi1 hao2 li2 , miu4 yi3 qian1 li3 Meaning

Meanings

  • a tiny lapse can lead to a huge mistake (idiomatic expression); a minor discrepancy leading to enormous losses

Simplified Characters

Traditional Characters

Pinyin

shi1 zhi1 hao2 li2 , miu4 yi3 qian1 li3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

shi1to lose zhi1(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) hao2hair li2variant of 釐|厘[li2] miu4to deceive yi3old variant of 以[yi3] qian1thousand li3variant of 裡|里[li3]