a small leak will sink a great ship; great losses often result from small problems
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesproverb
a small leak will sink a great ship; a small problem can lead to a great disaster
literaryUsed to emphasize the importance of addressing small problems or details to prevent major failures. The classical origin is from Hanfeizi's "Illustrating Laozi" (《韩非子•喻老》): "千丈之堤，以蝼蚁之穴溃。"
Xìn信
xī息
ān安
quán全
bì必
xū须
cóng从
xiǎo小
chù处
zhuó着
shǒu手
，
qiān千
lǐ里
zhī之
dī堤
，
kuì溃
yú于
yǐ蚁
xué穴
，
yí一
gè个
ruò弱
mì密
mǎ码
kě可
néng能
dǎo导
zhì致
zhěng整
gè个
xì系
tǒng统
bēng崩
kuì溃
。
Information security must start with small details; a small leak will sink a great ship, a weak password could cause the entire system to crash.
Gōng公
sī司
cái财
wù务
guǎn管
lǐ理
yí一
dìng定
yào要
yán严
jǐn谨
，
qiān千
lǐ里
zhī之
dī堤
，
kuì溃
yú于
yǐ蚁
xué穴
，
xiǎo小
xiǎo小
de的
zhàng账
mù目
cuò错
wù误
jī积
lěi累
duō多
le了
huì会
biàn变
chéng成
jù巨
dà大
de的
cái财
wù务
kū窟
lóng窿
。
The company's financial management must be rigorous; a small leak will sink a great ship, small accounting errors that accumulate can turn into a huge financial hole.
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Duì对
yú于
jiàn健
kāng康
guǎn管
lǐ理
，
bú不
yào要
hū忽
shì视
qīng轻
wēi微
de的
zhèng症
zhuàng状
，
qiān千
lǐ里
zhī之
dī堤
，
kuì溃
yú于
yǐ蚁
xué穴
，
xiǎo小
bìng病
bú不
zhì治
kě可
néng能
yǐn引
fā发
dà大
bìng病
。
For health management, don't ignore minor symptoms; a small leak will sink a great ship, a minor illness left untreated may lead to a serious disease.