差之毫厘，谬以千里

差之毫釐，謬以千里
chāzhīháolí,miùyǐqiānlǐ
  1. the slightest difference leads to a huge error (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 谬 miù
  1. (bound form) false; erroneous; absurd
  2. mu (Greek letter Μ, μ)
=5 以 yǐ old variant of 以 yǐ
=5 以 yǐ old variant of 以 yǐ
=5 以 yǐ
  1. to use
  2. by means of
  3. according to
  4. in order to
  5. because of
  6. at (a certain date or place)
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，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