差之毫厘，失之千里 chā zhī háo lí ， shī zhī qiān lǐ

DEFINITIONS

  1. the slightest difference leads to a huge loss (idiom)
  2. a miss is as good as a mile

CHARACTERS

差 chā
HSK 3
to differ; different, wrong; nearly, almost; an officer
之 zhī
HSK 4
marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
毫 háo
HSK 5
fine hair; measure of length
厘 lí
HSK 5
manage, control; thousandth part of tael
失 shī
HSK 4
lose; make mistake, neglect
之 zhī
HSK 4
marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
千 qiān
HSK 2
thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler
里 lǐ
HSK 1
unit of distance; village; lane