千里之堤，溃于蚁穴 qiān lǐ zhī dī ， kuì yú yǐ xué

DEFINITIONS

  1. an ant hole may cause the collapse of a great dike (idiom)
  2. huge damage may result from a moment's negligence

CHARACTERS

千 qiān
HSK 2
thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler
里 lǐ
HSK 1
unit of distance; village; lane
之 zhī
HSK 4
marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
堤 dī
HSK 6
dike
溃 kuì
HSK 6
flooding river; militarily defeat
于 yú
HSK 3
in, on, at; go to; surname
蚁 yǐ
HSK 6
ants
穴 xué
HSK 6
cave, den, hole; KangXi radical 116