千里之堤，溃于蚁穴 in English qian1 li3 zhi1 di1 , kui4 yu2 yi3 xue2 Meaning

Meanings

  • an ant hole may cause the collapse of a great dike (idiomatic expression)
  • huge damage may result from a moment's negligence

Simplified Characters

千 里 之 堤 ， 溃 于 蚁 穴

Traditional Characters

千 里 之 堤 ， 潰 於 蟻 穴

Pinyin

qian1 li3 zhi1 di1 , kui4 yu2 yi3 xue2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

千qian1thousand 里li3variant of 裡|里[li3] 之zhi1(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) 堤di1dike ， 溃kui4to be dispersed 于yu2surname Yu 蚁yi3ant 穴xue2cave