Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

sai một ly, đi nghìn dặm

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In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Off by a hair, astray by a thousand miles — precision's compound interest, in the negative.

Literally: wrong by a hair, gone a thousand miles

Examples

Sai một ly, đi một dặm.A hair off course, a mile astray.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “sai một ly, đi nghìn dặm” mean?

Off by a hair, astray by a thousand miles — precision's compound interest, in the negative. Literally: wrong by a hair, gone a thousand miles

Is “sai một ly, đi nghìn dặm” formal or informal?

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

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