差之毫厘，失之千里

chā zhī háo lí , shī zhī qiān lǐ

the slightest difference leads to a huge loss (idiom)

a miss is as good as a mile

差

chā

difference; discrepancy

之

zhī

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])

毫

háo

hair

厘

lí

one hundredth

，

,

失

shī

to lose

之

zhī

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])

千

qiān

used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1]

里

lǐ

li, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m