Xiàngmù chà yīdiǎn jiù wánchéng le, jiéguǒ gōngkuīyīkuì.
The project was almost finished, but in the end fell short by just a bit.
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From the Book of Documents (尚书): building a nine-ren-tall mound (仞 is a unit of height), if you stop when placing the final basket of earth (一篑), all the prior work is lost. 篑 (kuì) is a bamboo basket for carrying soil.
