差之毫厘，失之千里

差之毫釐，失之千里
chāzhīháolí,shīzhīqiānlǐ
  1. the slightest difference leads to a huge loss (idiom)
  2. a miss is as good as a mile

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 差 chā
  1. difference; discrepancy
  2. (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction)
  3. (literary) a little; somewhat; slightly
2 之 zhī
  1. (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的 de)
  2. him
  3. her
  4. it
3 毫厘 háolí a very small amount
4 失 shī
  1. to lose
  2. to miss
  3. to fail
5 之 zhī
  1. (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的 de)
  2. him
  3. her
  4. it
6 千里 qiānlǐ
  1. a thousand miles
  2. a thousand li (i.e. 500 kilometers)
  3. a long distance

Related entries

差之毫厘，谬以千里 chāzhīháolí,miùyǐqiānlǐ
  1. the slightest difference leads to a huge error (idiom)
  2. a miss is as good as a mile