失之毫厘，差之千里 — “To lose by a hair's breadth is to miss by a thousand li”
失之毫厘，差之千里 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a tiny deviation or a slight error can lead to a huge mistake or a significant difference in outcome; a small initial error can have far-reaching and disastrous consequences”. Literally, “To lose by a hair's breadth is to miss by a thousand li”.
失之毫厘，差之千里 Pronunciation and Pinyin
失之毫厘，差之千里 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 失之毫厘，差之千里
Origin and Story of 失之毫厘，差之千里
During the Western Han Dynasty, Zhao Chunguo was ordered by Emperor Xuan of Han to quell a rebellion in the northwestern region. Seeing that the rebel forces were disunited, he adopted a strategy of appeasement, which led most of the rebels to surrender.
However, Emperor Xuan ordered him to launch a military expedition, but the campaign was unsuccessful. Later, when he collected military provisions according to the emperor's command, it triggered another rebellion.
He sighed with emotion, saying, "Indeed, a miss by a hair's breadth can lead to a mile's error."
Idioms Related to 失之毫厘，差之千里
Synonyms of 失之毫厘，差之千里
More idioms starting with 失
- shī失zhī之dōng东yú隅lose at the beginning
- shī失zhī之dōng东yú隅，，shōu收zhī之sāng桑yú榆lose in one place, gain in another
- shī失zhī之jiāo交bì臂miss a golden opportunity
- shī失zhī之qiān千lǐ里，，chà差ruò若háo毫lí厘A tiny error leads to a huge divergence
- shī失zhī之háo毫lí厘，，chà差yǐ以qiān千lǐ里A small error leads to a huge mistake
- shī失zhāng张mào冒shì势act rashly and impetuously
- shī失zhāng张shī失zhì志flustered and disoriented
- shī失zhāng张shī失zhì智utterly flustered and disoriented
- shī失zhāng张shī失zhì致flustered and disoriented
- shī失jīng惊dǎo倒guài怪make a fuss over nothing
- shī失jīng惊dǎ打guài怪make a fuss over a trifle
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Open the tool →Questions about 失之毫厘，差之千里
What does 失之毫厘，差之千里 mean?
失之毫厘，差之千里 (shī zhī háo lí ， chā zhī qiān lǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a tiny deviation or a slight error can lead to a huge mistake or a significant difference in outcome; a small initial error can have far-reaching and disastrous consequences”.
How do you pronounce 失之毫厘，差之千里?
失之毫厘，差之千里 is pronounced shī zhī háo lí ， chā zhī qiān lǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 失之毫厘，差之千里 literally mean?
Literally, 失之毫厘，差之千里 means “to lose by a hair's breadth is to miss by a thousand li”. It is used to mean “a tiny deviation or a slight error can lead to a huge mistake or a significant difference in outcome; a small initial error can have far-reaching and disastrous consequences”.
Where does 失之毫厘，差之千里 come from?
失之毫厘，差之千里 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 失之毫厘，差之千里?
指细微的失误，可导致巨大的差错。