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 2^nd 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
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cin¹ lei⁵ zi¹ tai⁴, kui² jyu¹ ngai⁵ jyut⁶
    • Yale: chīn léih jī tàih, kúi yū ngáih yuht
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsin¹ lei⁵ dzi¹ tai⁴, kui² jy¹ ngai⁵ jyt⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: qin¹ léi⁵ ji¹ tei⁴, kui² yu¹ ngei⁵ yud⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ lei̯¹³ t͡siː⁵⁵ tʰɐi̯²¹ kʰuːi̯³⁵ jyː⁵⁵ ŋɐi̯¹³ jyːt̚²/

Proverb

千里之堤，潰於蟻穴

1. a small mistake can lead to a massive disaster