chā
zhī
háo
,
miù
qiān

idiom

Meaning of 差以毫厘,失之千里

差以毫厘,失之千里 means a small initial error can lead to vastly incorrect results; a small discrepancy makes a huge difference. Pronounced chā zhī háo lí , miù yǐ qiān lǐ.

  • a small initial error can lead to vastly incorrect results; a small discrepancy makes a huge difference

Definitions & Examples

Huǒ
jiàn
shè
de
shù
suàn
jīng
què
 
fǒu
chā
zhī
háo
 
miù
qiān
 

The data calculations for the rocket launch must be extremely precise; otherwise, a tiny error will lead to a huge mistake.

shǐ
yán
jiū
zhōng
 
duì
yuán
shǐ
wén
xiàn
de
 
wǎng
wǎng
huì
dǎo
zhì
duì
zhěng
shì
jiàn
de
cuò
jiě
 
zhēn
shì
chā
zhī
háo
 
miù
qiān
 

In historical research, misreading a single character in the original documents often leads to a misunderstanding of the entire event; it's a classic case of a small error leading to a huge mistake.

shēng
de
zhěn
duàn
shāo
yǒu
piān
chā
 
yòng
yào
jiù
huì
wán
quán
tóng
 
zhè
jiù
shì
chā
zhī
háo
 
miù
qiān
de
dào
 

If a doctor's diagnosis is slightly off, the prescribed medication will be completely different; this illustrates the principle that a small error leads to a huge mistake.