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因小失大
因小失大
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因小失大

因小失大 — “To incur a heavy loss for a small gain”

因小失大 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to incur a heavy loss for a small gain”. To spoil the ship for a halfpennyworth of tar. Literally, “lose the big due to the small”.

Frequency

因小失大 Pronunciation and Pinyin

  • 因yīn
  • 小xiǎo
  • 失shī
  • 大dà

因小失大 Character Breakdown

CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
因
yīn6cause or reason
小
xiǎo3small, little, young, minor
失
shī5lose, miss, or fail
大
dà3large, big, great

Example Sentence with 因小失大

他因为贪图一点小便宜,结果在合同上出了大错,真是因小失大。
He tried to gain a small advantage, but ended up making a big mistake in the contract, which was truly a case of losing a lot for a little.

Idioms Related to 因小失大

Synonyms of 因小失大

  • shě舍běn本zhú逐mò末neglect the root and pursue the tip

Antonyms of 因小失大

  • yī一jǔ举liǎng两dé得kill two birds with one stone

More idioms starting with 因

  • yīn因wū乌jí及wū屋Love me, love my dog
  • yīn因shì事zhì制yí宜adapt to circumstances
  • yīn因rén人zhì制yí宜tailor to individual needs
  • yīn因rén人chéng成shì事rely on others to accomplish things
  • yīn因rén人ér而yì异varies from person to person
  • yīn因rèn任shòu授guān官appoint officials according to ability
  • yīn因gōng公jiǎ假sī私to abuse one's public office for private gain
  • yīn因gōng公xíng行sī私abuse public trust for private gain
  • yīn因lì利chéng乘biàn便take advantage of a favorable situation
  • yīn因shì势chéng乘biàn便adapt to circumstances and seize opportunities
  • yīn因shì势lì利dǎo导guide skillfully by following the trend
  • yīn因yē噎fèi废shí食abandon important task due to minor setback

Questions about 因小失大

What does 因小失大 mean?
因小失大 (yīn xiǎo shī dà) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to incur a heavy loss for a small gain”.
How do you pronounce 因小失大?
因小失大 is pronounced yīn xiǎo shī dà in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 因小失大 literally mean?
Literally, 因小失大 means “lose the big due to the small”. It is used to mean “to incur a heavy loss for a small gain”.
What is the Chinese definition of 因小失大?
为了小的利益,造成大的损失。
Copy the pinyin for 因小失大 →Choose tone marks or tone numbers and copy the complete four-character reading.Read Chinese vocabulary and idiom guides →Continue with words, phrases, and idioms explained through natural examples.

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