失足

shīzú
  1. to lose one's footing
  2. to slip
  3. to take a wrong step in life

CEDICT

  1. to lose one's footing; to slip; to misstep
  2. to take a wrong step in life; (of a youngster) to commit a crime; (of a woman) to prostitute oneself

Wiktionary

  1. 举止不庄重。
  2. 走路不小心而摔倒。《五代汉．王定保．唐摭言．卷九．误掇恶名》：「杨篆员外，乾符中佐永宁刘丞相淮南幕，因游江失足坠水。」清．和邦额《夜谭随录．卷一．碧碧》：「少年遑遽，极力挤之，孙猝不及防，失足坠岩下。」也作「失脚」。
  3. 因不慎而堕落、失节或误入歧途。

重編國語辭典

Entry Composition

1 失 shī
  1. to lose
  2. to miss
  3. to fail
2 足 zú
  1. (bound form) foot; leg
  2. sufficient; ample
  3. as much as; fully

Containing this entry

一失足成千古恨 yīshīzúchéngqiāngǔhèn a single slip may cause everlasting sorrow (idiom)
一失足成千古風流人物 yīshīzúchéngqiāngǔfēngliúrénwù

Related entries

踩失脚 cǎishījiǎo to lose one's footing
出溜 chūliu
  1. to slip
  2. to slide
滑移 huáyí
  1. to slip
  2. to drift
蹉跎 cuōtuó
  1. (literary) to slip
  2. (of looks etc) to fade away
  3. (of time) to slip away
  4. to squander (time, opportunities); to dillydally
转差 zhuǎnchā
  1. to slip (e.g. of clutch)
  2. slippage
  3. also used of economic indicators, statistical discrepancies etc
打滑 dǎhuá
  1. to skid
  2. to slip
  3. to slide
踜 lèng
  1. to stumble
  2. to slip
  3. to fall
蹉 cuō
  1. to error
  2. to slip
  3. to miss
  4. to err
跶 dā
  1. to stumble
  2. to slip
  3. variant of 达 dá
打趔趄 dǎlièqie
  1. to trip
  2. to miss a step
  3. to slip
误入歧途 wùrùqítú
  1. to take a wrong step in life (idiom)
  2. to go astray
问路总比误入歧途好。

Better to ask the way than go astray.

Source: Tatoeba