Tiếng Việt · Idiom Candidate

sai một li đi một dặm

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: Sai một li, đi một dặm

Sense 1

Meaning · English

small errors may have great negative impacts

Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Sources & notes

Imported from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); community review pending. source ↗

Sense 2

Meaning · English

A small mistake can lead to big consequences

Literally: miss by one li go one dặm

Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Examples

Nhân viên đã sai một li đi một dặm khi nhập sai số liệuThe employee made a small mistake that led to big consequences when entering incorrect data

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Thành ngữ Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “sai một li đi một dặm” mean?

small errors may have great negative impacts

Is “sai một li đi một dặm” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.