chā zhī háo lí , miù yǐ qiān lǐ

Traditional: 差之毫釐，謬以千里

差之毫厘，谬以千里 (chā zhī háo lí , miù yǐ qiān lǐ) is a Chinese word meaning “the slightest difference leads to a huge error (idiom); a miss is as good as a mile”.

Meanings

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

Characters in 差之毫厘，谬以千里

差chā · difference; discrepancy之zhī · (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])毫háo · hair厘lí · one hundredth谬miù · (bound form) false; erroneous; absurd以yǐ · to use千qiān · thousand里lǐ · lining

Related words

可以can里lining里li, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m里surname Li里variant of 裡|里[li3]这里here这里variant of 這裡|这里[zhe4 li3]所以therefore那里there; that place那里there; that place以为to think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief)之(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])

Study Chinese with flashcards →