千里之堤，潰於蟻穴

Chinese
 
one thousand li; any great distance; fine horse
one thousand li; any great distance; fine horse; fine steed; fast horse
 's; him/her/it; this dike be dispersed; break down
 
in; at; to
in; at; to; from; by; than; out of; surname
 ant colony; ant nest
trad. (千里之堤，潰於蟻穴) 千里 之 堤 ， 潰 於 蟻穴
simp. (千里之堤，溃于蚁穴) 千里 之 堤 ， 溃 于 蚁穴
Literally: “a thousand-li dyke can collapse because of an ant colony”.

Etymology

From Han Feizi, Chapter 21 (《韓非子·喻老》):

千丈之堤，以螻蟻之穴潰；百尺之室，以突隙之煙焚。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
千丈之堤，以蝼蚁之穴溃；百尺之室，以突隙之烟焚。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Han Feizi, circa 2nd century BCE, translated based on W. K. Liao's version
Qiān zhàng zhī dī, yǐ lóuyǐ zhī xué kuì; bǎi chǐ zhī shì, yǐ tū xì zhī yān fén. [Pinyin]
A dike ten thousand feet long begins its crumbling with holes made by ants; a room one hundred feet square begins its burning with sparks of fire leaping through cracks of chimneys.

Pronunciation

  • Mandarin
    (Pinyin): qiānlǐzhīdī, kuìyúyǐxué, qiānlǐzhītí, kuìyúyǐxuè
    (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄢ ㄌㄧˇ ㄓ ㄉㄧ , ㄎㄨㄟˋ ㄩˊ ㄧˇ ㄒㄩㄝˊ, ㄑㄧㄢ ㄌㄧˇ ㄓ ㄊㄧˊ , ㄎㄨㄟˋ ㄩˊ ㄧˇ ㄒㄩㄝˋ
  • Cantonese (Jyutping): cin1 lei5 zi1 tai4, kui2 jyu1 ngai5 jyut6
  • Mandarin
    • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)+
      • Hanyu Pinyin: qiānlǐzhīdī, kuìyúyǐxué
      • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄢ ㄌㄧˇ ㄓ ㄉㄧ , ㄎㄨㄟˋ ㄩˊ ㄧˇ ㄒㄩㄝˊ
      • Tongyong Pinyin: cianlǐjhihdi, kuèiyúyǐsyué
      • Wade–Giles: chʻien1-li3-chih1-ti1, kʻuei4-yü2-i3-hsüeh2
      • Yale: chyān-lǐ-jr̄-dī-, kwèi-yú-yǐ-sywé
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chianliijydi, kueyyuyiishyue
      • Palladius: цяньличжиди, куйюйисюэ (cjanʹličžidi, kujjujisjue)
      • Sinological IPA (key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ li²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ti⁵⁵ kʰu̯eɪ̯⁵¹ y³⁵ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕy̯ɛ³⁵/
    • (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan; variant in Mainland)+
      • Hanyu Pinyin: qiānlǐzhītí, kuìyúyǐxuè
      • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄢ ㄌㄧˇ ㄓ ㄊㄧˊ , ㄎㄨㄟˋ ㄩˊ ㄧˇ ㄒㄩㄝˋ
      • Tongyong Pinyin: cianlǐjhihtí, kuèiyúyǐsyuè
      • Wade–Giles: chʻien1-li3-chih1-tʻi2, kʻuei4-yü2-i3-hsüeh4
      • Yale: chyān-lǐ-jr̄-tí-, kwèi-yú-yǐ-sywè
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chianliijytyi, kueyyuyiishiueh
      • Palladius: цяньличжити, куйюйисюэ (cjanʹličžiti, kujjujisjue)
      • Sinological IPA (key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ li²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ tʰi³⁵ kʰu̯eɪ̯⁵¹ y³⁵ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕy̯ɛ⁵¹/
  • Cantonese

Proverb

千里之堤，潰於蟻穴

  1. a small mistake can lead to a massive disaster
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