千里之堤，溃于蚁穴 (Qiān lǐ zhī dī, kuì yú yǐ xué)

Meaning: A small neglected flaw can bring down something great.

Literally: A thousand-mile dyke collapses through an ant hole

Example: “小问题不及时处理，会酿成大祸。千里之堤，溃于蚁穴。” — Small problems not dealt with in time lead to disaster: for want of a nail the shoe was lost.

Equivalents in English, French, Japanese, German, and Italian

English: For want of a nail the shoe is lost; for want of a shoe the horse is lost; for want of a horse the rider is lost.
French: Faute d'un point, Martin perdit son âne (literally: For want of a dot, Martin lost his donkey)
Japanese: 千丈の堤も蟻の一穴から (Senjō no tsutsumi mo ari no ikketsu kara) (literally: Even a thousand-fathom dyke collapses from a single ant hole)
German: Kleine Ursachen, große Wirkungen (literally: Small causes, great effects)
Italian: Per un chiodo si perde un ferro, e per un ferro un cavallo (literally: For a nail a shoe is lost, and for a shoe a horse)

Origin: From the Han Feizi (3rd century BC), which says a dyke a thousand zhang long can be breached through the holes of ants.

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