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失之毫厘,差以千里

失之毫厘,差以千里 shī zhī háo lí , chà yǐ qiān lǐ a tiny lapse can lead to a huge mistake (idiom); a minor discrepancy leading to enormous losses
失 shī to lose / to miss / to fail
 之 zhī (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的) / him / her / it
  毫 háo hair / drawing brush / (in the) least / one thousandth / currency unit, 0.1 yuan
   厘 lí variant of 厘
   厘 Lí Li (c. 2000 BC), sixth of the legendary Flame Emperors 炎帝 descended from Shennong 神农 Farmer God, also known as Ai 哀
   厘 lí one hundredth / centi-
     差 chā difference; discrepancy / (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction) / (literary) a little; somewhat; slightly
     差 chà different / wrong; mistaken / to fall short; to lack / not up to standard; inferior / Taiwan pr. [cha1]
     差 chāi to send (on an errand) / (archaic) person sent on such an errand / job; official post
     差 cī used in 参差
      以 yǐ old variant of 以
      以 yǐ old variant of 以
      以 Yǐ abbr. for Israel 以色列
      以 yǐ to use / by means of / according to / in order to / because of / at (a certain date or place)
       千 qiān thousand
       千 qiān used in 秋千
       千里 qiān lǐ a thousand miles / a thousand li (i.e. 500 kilometers) / a long distance
        里 lǐ variant of 里
        里 lǐ lining / interior / inside / internal / also written 里
        里 Lǐ surname Li
        里 lǐ li, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m / neighborhood / ancient administrative unit of 25 families / (Tw) borough, administrative unit between the township 镇 and neighborhood 邻 levels
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By MDBG 2026