蚁穴溃堤 — “Neglecting minor problems can lead to major catastrophes”
蚁穴溃堤 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Neglecting minor problems can lead to major catastrophes”. A small flaw can cause the collapse of a great undertaking. Literally, “An ant hole can cause the collapse of a dike”.
蚁穴溃堤 Pronunciation and Pinyin
蚁穴溃堤 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 蚁穴溃堤
Origin and Story of 蚁穴溃堤
During the Warring States period, Bai Gui, the prime minister of the State of Wei, was very accomplished in flood control. He was skilled at building dikes to prevent floods and was diligent in checking and repairing them.
He frequently inspected the dikes, and as soon as he discovered any small hole, even the tiniest ant hole, he would immediately dispatch people to fill it, preventing any leakage. This was to prevent small holes from gradually expanding, breaching the dike, and causing great disasters.
During Bai Gui's tenure as prime minister, the State of Wei never experienced a major flood.
Idioms Related to 蚁穴溃堤
Synonyms of 蚁穴溃堤
More idioms starting with 蚁
- yǐ蚁fēng封xué穴yǔ雨Ants sealing nests means heavy rain
- yǐ蚁yōng拥fēng蜂cuán攒swarming like ants and clustering like bees
- yǐ蚁dòu斗wō蜗zhēng争Trivial disputes
- yǐ蚁kuì溃shǔ鼠hài骇flee in terror and scatter in disarray
- yǐ蚁xué穴zì自fēng封confine oneself to a small domain
- yǐ蚁jù聚fēng蜂tún屯swarm like ants and bees
- yǐ蚁jù聚fēng蜂cuán攒swarm like ants and bees
- yǐ蚁shān膻shǔ鼠fǔ腐To have low and unrefined tastes
- yǐ蚁cuì萃zhōng螽jí集Gather in vast numbers
- yǐ蚁fù附fēng蜂tún屯to swarm like ants and bees
- yǐ蚁fù附yíng蝇qū趋fawn over someone for personal gain
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Open the tool →Questions about 蚁穴溃堤
What does 蚁穴溃堤 mean?
蚁穴溃堤 (yǐ xué kuì dī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Neglecting minor problems can lead to major catastrophes”.
How do you pronounce 蚁穴溃堤?
蚁穴溃堤 is pronounced yǐ xué kuì dī in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 蚁穴溃堤 literally mean?
Literally, 蚁穴溃堤 means “an ant hole can cause the collapse of a dike”. It is used to mean “Neglecting minor problems can lead to major catastrophes”.
Where does 蚁穴溃堤 come from?
蚁穴溃堤 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 蚁穴溃堤?
小小的蚂蚁窝，能够使堤岸溃决。比喻小事不注意，就会出大乱子。