秤砣虽小压千斤 in English cheng4 tuo2 sui1 xiao3 ya1 qian1 jin1 Meaning

Meanings

  • although small, a steelyard weight may tip a hundred pounds (idiomatic expression)
  • apparently insignificant details can have a large impact
  • for want of a nail the battle was lost

Simplified Characters

秤 砣 虽 小 压 千 斤

Traditional Characters

秤 砣 雖 小 壓 千 斤

Pinyin

cheng4 tuo2 sui1 xiao3 ya1 qian1 jin1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

秤cheng4variant of 稱|称[cheng1], to weigh 砣tuo2steelyard weight 虽sui1although 小xiao3small 压ya1to press 千qian1thousand 斤jin1catty