堤溃蚁穴 — “A dike bursts because of ant holes”
堤溃蚁穴 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Neglecting seemingly minor issues or small oversights can lead to significant problems or catastrophic failures”. Literally, “A dike bursts because of ant holes”.
堤溃蚁穴 Pronunciation and Pinyin
堤溃蚁穴 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 堤溃蚁穴
Origin and Story of 堤溃蚁穴
During the Warring States period, Bai Gui, the prime minister of the State of Wei, was highly successful in flood control.
He was skilled at building dikes and diligently inspected and repaired them. He regularly patrolled the embankments, and as soon as he discovered any small hole, even the tiniest ant hole, he would immediately order it to be filled.
He understood the importance of preventing water leakage, knowing that small holes could gradually expand, cause the dike to break, and lead to major disasters.
During Bai Gui's time as prime minister, the State of Wei did not suffer from any floods.
Idioms Related to 堤溃蚁穴
Synonyms of 堤溃蚁穴
More idioms starting with 堤
Recommended tools
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →Questions about 堤溃蚁穴
What does 堤溃蚁穴 mean?
堤溃蚁穴 (dī kuì yǐ xué) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Neglecting seemingly minor issues or small oversights can lead to significant problems or catastrophic failures”.
How do you pronounce 堤溃蚁穴?
堤溃蚁穴 is pronounced dī kuì yǐ xué in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 堤溃蚁穴 literally mean?
Literally, 堤溃蚁穴 means “a dike bursts because of ant holes”. It is used to mean “Neglecting seemingly minor issues or small oversights can lead to significant problems or catastrophic failures”.
Where does 堤溃蚁穴 come from?
堤溃蚁穴 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 堤溃蚁穴?
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。